The Storm
by SoapQueen89
Summary: Fic complete. PC becomes a warzone for the mob when Jason wants a piece of Zander's territory. ZEm, Ric, Alexis, Liason, Sonny and others.
1. Default Chapter

_The rain pounded hard against the elongated window, the wind outside howled as the storm made it's presence known. Zander stood looking out across the bay into the darkness as the lightning flashed in the distance, thunder rolled across the sky and he turned and with concern and worry in his eyes towards the one true love he has ever known, the woman who had his heart, his wife, Emily. She lay in slumber only a few feet from him and the flashes of light that filtered in through the window as the storm drew closer illuminated her form just enough so he could admire from across the room._

_The early morning hours drew near and he was restless, he couldn't sleep, he slipped quietly from bed, so as not to wake her. He gazed out the window into the midnight and wondered if his life was to end in tragedy as well. He had always known that the life he led was dangerous and deadly, but it was the only life he knew. His father was in over his head, killed by his rival when Zander was just a boy, but old enough to witness the murder and know who had done the deed. A man who was close to his father's side through out the years, his father's right hand man, a dirty player in the game who only had one thing to gain by killing his long time boss, power. Power and greed were the motives for his father's death, and he couldn't allow power and greed take over the life he had worked so hard for._

_The dark, dangerous, and sometimes deadly life had always been on his mind, he could never guarantee or promise he'd return, he couldn't promise he'd be home every night at a reasonable hour, he couldn't promise a life of safety and security, the only thing he could promise was that he would protect and love his family. His wife, Emily, knew that walking into this relationship and then marriage ... But he was still worried and fearful of the life she'd have if God forbid he was to leave one evening and not return. If tragedy struck and he'd be killed by a rival organization it would devastate her, she'd be lost with out him. He was in way to deep to turn back now, there was no way out. His life now threatened by another powerful organization who wanted control of the territory he was handed down by his family. He had never thought he and Sonny would be on opposing sides, their relationship was never cozy but they were friends and had been for some time. Now his mentor was the one who was threatening to take his life._

_Had never wanted to bring fear into the eyes of those he loved, and lately he had seen it in the eyes of his wife and child. He couldn't leave the life he built for himself, he couldn't make promises or guarantees to Emily or to his child that he'd always be with them, he couldn't turn back now, there was too much at stake._

_The storm raged on outside as he thought about all his options, there didn't seem to be answer for him as he stared out into the darkness. The driven rain pounded against the glass as he turned and walked towards the bed. He brushed back a stray strand of Emily's auburn hair and softly kissed her cheek. Tenderness and devotion filled his eyes as he watched her sleep. He quietly left the bedroom and walked down the stairs, he knew there was no sleep for him tonight, he had a lot on his mind. Only dressed in his black silk pajama pants, the tile of the living room floor was cold as he stepped down off the last step of the stairs. His feet patted across the floor as he picked up a clean glass from the wet bar counter. He poured himself a drink, he didn't care what, it needed to be strong. He poured himself a double and walked towards the mahogany desk. He sat in his chair, opened the file that lay on the desk, and stared down at it. He ran his hands through his cool black hair and wondered if his rival, Sonny Corinthos was as restless as he was. He flipped the folder closed in frustration and took the last swallow of his drink, he grimaced as it went down his throat. He set the glass on the desk and walked away leaving it there till morning. He headed back up the stairs towards the bedroom._

_He slipped in quietly and walked to his side of the bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and laid back down. He folded his arms underneath his head and stared at the ceiling. She heard him come in and slip back into bed. She moved slowly towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, she nuzzled in close and laid her head on his shoulder. Still unaware what was on his mind, she closed her eyes again and fell back asleep in the arms that she knew would protect and love her always._

_He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes, his mind raced with worry, fear and concern as all his thoughts could give him was what ifs. He slowly moved down and laid his head on the pillow, hoping he could fall asleep. The storm now upon the town of Port Charles, it raged on as the thunder rumbled and the lightning cracked loudly as it struck the ground across town. It shook him awake in a cold sweat fearfully he had been the victim of a gunshot. He still groggy from sleep, felt up and down both their bodies fearing the worst. He found nothing wrong as he awoke fully and breathed a sigh of relief it had only been the storm._

_She heard the key in the door as she lay awake on the couch waiting for him to come back from his midnight meeting at St. Timothy's church. She removed the afghan from her body and rose from the couch to meet him as he opened the door and stepped into the apartment. "Oh thank God!" she rushed into his arms so glad he was alive. She had been having nightmares of a fateful night like this night and finding out from one of the guards he had been shot. "Hey, hey it's okay. I'm alright. I'm home now." he replied as he tried to comfort her worries. She looked up at him, he drenched from the rain. She touched every inch of him, finding him in one piece, no wounds to speak of. He looked at her confused as to what she was doing. "Elizabeth, what are you doing?" he asked as he felt her hands touch him all over. "I'm looking for war wounds, what do you think I'm doing?" she replied in a serious tone as he chuckled at her actions. "I'm okay...really." he answered as he removed his leather jacket and hung it on the back of the desk chair. "Well, I ... I wanted to be sure." she said still concerned about what could of happened tonight. _

_He and her walked together towards the couch and sat down. She covered herself with the afghan once again as she felt a chill in the air that gave her the quivers. She leaned into him as he wrapped his arm around her. He kissed the top of her head and rubbed up and down along her arms with his hand. "I was worried about you....you didn't call and I didn't know what to do, Jason." she flinched as the lightning outside struck once again. She jumped frightened by the storm that raged on outside. He held her against him in the hopes of soothing her fears. _

_He could only imagine what she feared for him. He had been leading the dangerous life for a long time and he told her before initiating a relationship with him that it would not be a life she would of hoped for. He had told her from the beginning he couldn't promise her a life of security, a life free from danger, all he could give her was a dangerous lifestyle with guards and guns._

_He slipped out from underneath her and covered her up with the afghan. He brushed back a stray strand of hair from her face and gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand. She was the most precious thing in his life, he would protect her at all costs. He turned and walked towards the window. He stared out into the darkness as the lightning flashed and the thunder rumbled so he could feel it in his gut. _

_Jason knew he was in too deep to leave the organization, there was no turning back. He wasn't surprised that the rival organization wanted the territory he and Sonny had possession of. It was prime real estate that would bring in huge dollars to those who had possession of it. He wasn't shocked to hear that his brother in law was the opposing party who was in after it, the territory he had possession of, laid against the territory already owned by Zander's family. There was a war about to begin, he was fearful for his sister and his wife. He glanced over his shoulder and watched her sleep so peacefully, he went to her side and scooped her up into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and nuzzled in close. He carefully walked up the stairs and to the bedroom. He laid her down gently and covered her with the blankets. She turned into the pillow and sighed. He smiled and walked to the other side of the bed. He removed his tee shirt, and then his jeans and boots. He slipped into bed beside her as she felt the warmth of his body against her and she was overwhelmed with the feeling of security. _

_For tonight, he was home safe and his arms wrapped around her. For tonight, he was home unscathed from the storm that raged on._


	2. Chapter 2

_The late night summer storm blew through Port Charles only to leave behind a beautiful sunrise and a clear blue sky. Emily awoke early that morning by the sound of Devon's crying. She quickly slipped on her ruby silk robe and her terry slippers, she looked over her shoulder to see Zander still sleeping soundly for the first time that night. He'd been restless last night, though he didn't realize she was aware, she was. She stood up from the edge of the bed and went to Devon's room to comfort him. When she reached his room he had pulled himself up to the collapsible side bar of the crib, his face lit up when he saw his mommy standing in the doorway of the nursery. He not quite 7 months old, was her and Zander's miracle. She had been told by countless doctors that she would have a difficulty becoming pregnant, and if she were to become pregnant, she would have a hard time carrying the baby to term. Both were pleasantly surprised when she found out she was carrying Devon. Doctors had put her on the strictest routine because she was at risk. Plenty of bed rest and absolutely no stress ... a difficult thing not to have when she's married into the mob lifestyle._

_Devon, a dark haired little boy, was certainly happy to see his mother when he woke up every morning. Emily not knowing how having a child would change their lives, she was just overwhelmed with being a mother. She reached into the crib and lifted him up to her. He smiled and cooed as his mother just smiled at how big he was getting over the last few months. He'd be walking and getting into mischief in no time. She had to laugh at the faces he was making as she stood and held him close to her. She changed his diaper and got him all ready for the day. The morning sun created funny shadows on the Noah's Ark wallpaper of the nursery as Devon smiled and pointed to the sunspots that were scattered on the walls. She headed out the door of the nursery with Devon in her arms as she peeked in at Zander and noticed he was still sleeping. She left him sleep and took the baby down stairs for breakfast._

_She sat Devon in his highchair and took out a bottle of milk and his baby food from the refrigerator. She laid a terry bib on the counter and grabbed a baby spoon from the drawer. Devon sat waiting patiently as he watched his mom gathering his breakfast. She was surprised at how good he was when it came to feeding him. He rarely made a mess for her to clean up or was fussy with what she was giving him to eat. She sat down in front of him and opened up the jar of strained bananas. She put the terry bib on him and snapped it closed in back. He cooed at her and she smiled and laughed with him. She turned when she heard the pattering of bare feet from the living room. Zander had awaken and walked across the tile floor of the living room and into the kitchen._

_"Morning sweet heart..." he said and kissed her on her cheek and then said good morning to his son as he brushed the side of his pudgy cheeks. "Any coffee?" he asked as he walked towards the cabinet for a coffee cup. "Sorry, honey ... didn't get a chance to make a fresh pot." she apologized as she spooned another small portion of strained bananas for Devon. Zander began to fill the filter with coffee just as the phone rang. He stopped what he was doing and went to answer it. Emily rolled her eyes cause she knew this was only the beginning of their day, it was sure to get worse as the day went on._

_Zander came back in a few minutes, without saying a word he went back to making a fresh pot of coffee. She noticed his demeanor and didn't ask who was on the phone. She finished giving Devon his strained bananas and handed him a bottle of milk. He grasped onto the bottle and started to suckle the tip. She held it for him as he drank so he wouldn't drop it on the floor._

_Zander filled his coffee cup with his morning caffeine fix and took a seat at the table with his wife and son. He looked at Emily feeding his son and wondered if all of the danger was worth it. How life with his family away from the mob would be different. He ran his hands through his hair and answered his own questions .... what other life did he know ... why worry about the what ifs when all they were, were his dreams._

_Jason's morning began like any other morning as he turned towards Elizabeth to watch her sleeping peacefully. He brushed back a stray strand of her hair and kissed her gently on her lips. She stirred as she felt the sensation of his soft lips on hers and returned the gesture as she wrapped her arms around him. "Good morning, beautiful..." he said as she began to stretch out the sleepiness in her body. She yawned and looked at the digital clock that sat by the bedside. "Jason ..." she whined as she noticed it was only 5am. "It's so early ..." she continued as he smiled and caressed her upper arm with his strong hand. "Yeah, it is .. but I wanted to tell you that I would be leaving again for a few days, and I couldn't leave before I did." he said as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and saw that he was dressed in a black tee shirt and jeans. "For how long?" she asked as he sat up and reached for his watch that sat on his night stand next to the bed. "I don't know .. I'll have to call you when I get there." he replied hoping she wouldn't push the subject with him about where he was going._

_She noticed the look on his face and thought better of asking any more questions that she knew he couldn't answer. He leaned down and kissed her gently, she wrapped her arms around his neck not wanting to let him go. He reached up and pried her arms from him as he got up from the bed. He knew she wanted him to stay, but he had to leave her for a while, he'd be back soon enough. He gave her one last longing look and grabbed his duffle bag as she watched him walk out the bedroom....always on her mind, if it would be for the last time._

_She turned and sunk her head into the down pillow as she heard him return as the door squeaked as he opened it slightly. She turned towards him as he peeked in "I love you..." he said as she smiled and said "I love you too..." He blew her a kiss and was off to somewhere she didn't know._

_She laid in bed alone, with nothing to think about but what would be happening to him while he was away from her. She knew he would return in a few days, he would come back to her as he had done many times before. She turned onto her side, reached out her arm and caressed his side of the bed....still warm from his body, she grabbed his pillow and held it close to her, still having his scent deep in it's fibers, she took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. He would come back to her .... she just needed to believe that._


	3. Chapter 3

_It had been a few days since she had heard from him and she was now getting worried. He was never gone this long without calling her. She had double checked the locks downstairs and had retired for the evening by turning out all the lights and heading upstairs to the bedroom. The house felt so empty without him in it, the bed felt so cold as she lay awake hoping she could fall asleep without him by her side. The fear of hearing the worst had been bringing her nightmares when she closed her eyes at night, she didn't want to fall asleep but she knew she had to._

_She pulled the covers up over her shoulders and turned onto her side and faced into his side of the bed, still empty, still cold. She missed him so much. As she lay there, she had this overwhelming feeling of something awful had happened. Fearing for her husband, she opened up the nightstand and pulled out the cell phone she kept there. She quickly dialed, he didn't answer. She called the next person who would know what could be happening. She dialed the number feverishly, her fingers pushing down the keys on the keypad quickly. It rang, and rang, finally someone familiar answered on the other end. _

_"Hello..." the voice said groggily. "Sonny .. It's Elizabeth. Have you heard from Jason?" she said now hysterical and worried about him. Sonny heard the worry and concern in her voice and tried his best to calm her down over the phone. _

_"Elizabeth? What's wrong? He isn't back yet?" Sonny replied now concerned himself about Jason. _

_"No Sonny, damn it! He's not back yet! And I have an awful feeling something's happened." There was a brief pause without any word from Jason's best friend, Elizabeth repeated her words to him again. _

_"Okay.....we'll be right over." Was all Sonny said and the phone line went dead._

_Emily was pacing the hardwood floor of the bedroom as she kept checking on Devon making sure he was alright, not knowing what to do or who to call. Zander wasn't back from his business trip and she was getting worried about him. He always called to check on her and Devon, no matter what time it was, Zander called. She was restless, couldn't sleep, concerned and fearful something had happened._

_She had just come back from checking on Devon when the silence was broken by the ring of the telephone. She rushed to pick it up hoping it was Zander. As she picked up the receiver, a feeling rushed over her, a horrible feeling that this phone call was not good news. _

_"H-Hello Zander?!" a brief pause before the voice on the other end answered her. _

_"No sweetie, it's mom." Emily's heart sank to the floor, her insides contracted and she felt the worst had happened. Without giving her mother a chance to say anything her eyes welled with tears. _

_"Oh my God! Mom, is he alright? Tell me he's alright!" she said frantically. She trembled as she held the phone to her ear and listened to her mother explain the reason for the call. _

_"Emily, sweetie....you need to stay calm and listen to me. Okay." Emily's insides quivered with fear as she trembled and tried to reply to her mom's request. _

_"O-Okay..I'll try." "You need to get Devon. You and he need come to GH, we're in the ER. I'll explain when you get here." There was no reply from Emily on the other end. _

_"Em! Emily! You still there....honey...you need to get to GH. Zander's been shot." Emily hadn't heard the last remarks from her mother as she left the phone dangling on the floor, she had rushed to Devon's room and got him dressed and bundled to go to the hospital._

_Emily packed the diaper bag and wrapped Devon in a blanket, took him back to their room and got dressed. She and Devon rushed down the stairs and out the door. She needed to get to the hospital .. her husband needed her. She met Louie at the elevator, he had been standing guard at the front door since earlier that evening. He noticed she was frantically trying to get the elevator to open up, when he asked her what was wrong. She tried to explain that she needed to get to GH and that Zander had been brought in. Louie escorted her to the car and helped her with Devon into the back of the limo. He drove her as fast as he could to the ER and walked her in to find her mother._

_"Mom!" Emily shouted as she rushed into the ER with Devon in her arms. "Where's Zander? How is he?" she asked as her mom took her to the waiting area to explain what was going on._

_Elizabeth slipped on her silk robe and slippers and went downstairs to wait for Sonny and Carly. Max announced them as she was pacing the floor waiting for them. _

_"Sonny .. please give me good news. Please!" Sonny and Carly exchanged glances and she knew the news they had for wasn't what she wanted to hear. Sonny took her by the arm and asked her to sit down on the couch. Carly followed and sat on the other side of her and tried to be there for her when Sonny started to explain. Elizabeth's cries echoed through the apartment as she leaned into Sonny for comfort. He tried to reassure her that Jason would be alright, but Elizabeth wanted to see for herself. Carly helped her upstairs to get dressed, she was going to the ER to be with her husband._

_Sonny called for Max to take Elizabeth to GH and to go in with her to the ER, he and Carly would follow them there. Max did as he was instructed and he escorted Elizabeth to the limo that was waiting for her in the parking garage. Max drove her there as fast as he could knowing that this night had to be one of Elizabeth's worst fears coming true._

_He pulled up to the ER and tried to walk Elizabeth in, but she rushed passed him as soon as the automatic doors of the ER opened. She saw Monica and Alan tending to a patient and rushed up to them to see if they knew anything about Jason. Bobbie interceded and tried to keep her from pursuing towards the patient that laid still on the gurney. Elizabeth didn't need anyone to tell her who the person was as she cried out for her husband. "Jason!!!" her legs buckled underneath her as Max was there to catch her before she fell to the floor. She leaned on Max as he tried to steady her against him. Sonny and Carly walked through the automatic doors of the ER and Sonny rushed to Elizabeth's side to help. He and Max walked her to the waiting area and sat her down on the couch. Elizabeth trembled as tears fell from her soft brown eyes, fearful for her husband, not knowing anything, she tried to get as close as she could to see him. _

_As she tried to rush to his side, she noticed her best friend Emily was standing on the other side of the nurse's station talking with her mother. Elizabeth wiped away her tears and composed herself the best she could and walked over to see if she could help. She was in no shape to help anyone, but she needed to be there for her friend._

_Emily and Elizabeth had been the best of friends for as long as they could remember. It had been rough over the last year or so since Elizabeth had married Emily's brother Jason, Jason being Zander's adversary, it made things difficult for the two of them to stay connected. Elizabeth rushed to her friend's side and Emily fell into her arms, without a thought about why they were not close anymore, nothing else mattered. Emily needed her friend right now and she knew Elizabeth would be there for her._

_"Oh my God, Emily!" Elizabeth asked as her friend sobbed uncontrollably. She held her like any friend would and tried to comfort her the best she could. "Come, let's sit down." Elizabeth took Emily by her hand as she wiped the tears from her eyes with a tissue from her pocket. "Emily .. listen to me. We're gonna get through this. We're gonna do it together." Elizabeth trying to stay strong for the both of them as she saw Emily's parents walking towards them. She stiffened and Emily felt her demeanor change as she turned around and saw her mom and dad approaching._

_Emily rushed the two of them as they drew closer and Elizabeth followed wiping the tears from her cheek and trying to compose herself enough to understand what they were about to tell her._

_"How's Zander?" Emily asked as her mom took her hand and tried to steady her for the news she was about to tell her. _

_"Zander's in surgery. It will be a few hours before we know anything." Monica replied as Emily's fear worsened. _

_"Well, why aren't you in there with him?! I want ..." Monica tried to explain that he was getting the best care that GH could offer him and that she should try to calm down. Elizabeth took Emily's hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. _

_"How's Jason?" she asked as another doctor approached them. _

_"We're working on him ... I can't give you much more than that. I am so sorry. We'll know more soon, though." Alan replied as he and Monica tried to reassure the girls. _

_"I want to be with him!" Elizabeth insisted as she saw the gurney Jason was on being moved to an enclosed exam room. The curtain was drawn closed and she wasn't able to see what was being done to him. _

_"Give me a few minutes, okay. Then I'll let you see him." Monica replied as she turned and went to see what could be done for her son._

_Emily and Elizabeth stood together watching as Monica went behind the closed curtain. What seemed like hours for Elizabeth, Monica appeared in a few minutes and led her to be by Jason's side. Emily sat in the waiting area with her dad and Devon as she anxiously awaited news about her husband._

_Elizabeth pulled back the curtain, and was taken back by what she saw. A white gauze patch on his forehead held in place with opaque hospital tape, an IV hooked to his left forearm, wires pressed against his chest, an oxygen mask that was covering his nose and mouth, her husband was in critical condition. She slowly walked towards him and took his hand in hers. Amy was checking his vitals on the machine that was standing next to him and jotting down the numbers on her clipboard. _

_"You can talk to him, but I doubt he'll respond. He's on a lot of medications, it may be a while." Amy remarked as she pulled the curtain closed and left Elizabeth alone with her husband._

_Her head fell to the metal sidebar along the gurney and she sobbed. This was her worst fear coming true and she couldn't control what was going to happen. She said a little prayer and squeezed Jason's hand. She told him that she loved him and that he would be alright. He was in the very best hands, the doctors would take care of him. As she spoke the words to Jason, she needed to believe them herself. Tears trickled down her cheek as she sat with him for a while hoping that he would know she was there with him._

_Monica appeared and walked up behind her. "I have some news." Elizabeth startled by Monica's presence she rose from the swivel stool she was sitting on and waited to hear the prognosis. Emily came to be with Elizabeth as she heard the news about Jason._

_"We have done the best we can right now. Jason will need surgery to remove the bullet, however I don't want to go in there blind. So we have administered a self inducing coma medication to keep him sedated for a while. We can slowly bring him out of it when we think it is safe enough to go in and removed the fragments. His vitals are not stable enough to do that now, thus we need to get him stabilized before we go in search of the bullet and the fragments it may have left. Xrays tell us that it doesn't look like it punctured any major organs, which is good. However the bullet has lodged itself in a compromising position, and for us to remove it, we need to know that Jason is strong enough to handle the surgery. He is by no means out of the woods, the next 24 to 48 hours are critical." Monica knew that it was a lot for Elizabeth to comprehend right now, but she needed to know how things were looking for Jason. Elizabeth gave her a tearful thank you for telling her all she could and returned to be with Jason._

_A few hours had passed and Emily had tried to stay positive about Zander. She had left Devon with Alexis and Ned who had come to see what they could do for her, while she went to the chapel to light a candle and to say a prayer. She pushed open the chapel doors to find Sonny kneeling at the alter. She was hesitant to enter, but she had a few choice words for him so she moved forward. The doors swooshed closed and Sonny rose to his feet. He turned and saw Emily standing in the back of the chapel, her hands folded in front of her, her eyes filled with anger._

_She took a few steps towards him before he stepped down from the alter. "Emily....I'm so sorry." he spoke softly as her arms fell to her side, her fists clenched in anger. Emily stiffened as he walked passed her and through the double doors. She turned and watched him go, not saying a word to the man who put her brother and her husband against one another. Her heart filled with hate for the man, everyone called Mr. Corinthos._

_She lit a candle for Zander, and a candle for her brother Jason. She took a seat the nearest pew and whispered a prayer for them._

_She heard the doors open once again and she looked up to find her dad standing in the doorway. "We have news about Zander."_


	4. Chapter 4

_Emily stood up slowly from the pew and turned towards her father who was standing in the doorway of the chapel. She took a deep breath and approached him, unsure of was coming next. Alan reached for her hands and held them tightly in his. Her father's hands strong and always comforting to her, she knew the news about Zander wasn't good. _

_"Zander's out of surgery. He stayed strong during the procedure and is stable." as he finished Emily sighed relief. "May I see him?" she asked as she sniffled back the tears. "Come, I'll take you to him." he dad said as he escorted her out of the chapel. "How's Jason?" she asked as they turned the corner and headed towards the recovery room. "The same. Elizabeth's with him." His concerned look didn't help comfort her own fears as they reached the enclosed room where Zander lay lying in a hospital bed connected to all sorts of machines._

_The large glass windows revealed to her, her husband who lie lifeless. She cautiously peered around the corner and stood in the doorway. She walked slowly into the room and towards his bedside. The small stool squeaked as she rolled it closer to the bed. She sat down and took his hand in hers. She held it close to her lips and kissed it gently as her free hand brushed back the few strands of coal black hair of his forelock from his eyes. Her hand brushed against his cheek as she brought it back down to her and wrapped her hands around his. She kissed his hands once again as she whispered against them how much she loved him._

_She sat and listened to the silence. The distinct sound of the breathing machine continued as the deflator moved in an up and down motion with every breath. Zander was pale, his color had not returned to what she had remembered, the bronze tone had vanished from his face, his arms, his hands were cold to the touch. She knew she had to bring him back to her. He had the fight of his life staring him in the face and he had to stay strong and fight to be with her ... yet again._

_Elizabeth sat with Jason as Monica jotted down his current vitals in his file. Her concern for husband was apparent when she asked Monica how he was doing. "He's getting stronger and that's always a good sign." Monica replied and touched her gently on the shoulder as reassurance. "When will he wake up?" Elizabeth asked as she caressed Jason's hand. "It shouldn't be long now. You can talk to him, he should respond to your voice. But don't force him to wake up, he'll come around on his own." Monica left Elizabeth and Jason by closing the door behind her. She peered through the glass window at her son who was in critical yet stable condition. Alan's strong arms came up from behind her and embraced her. "He's going to be alright." he said trying to reassure her. Monica sniffled back the tears and leaned back into him. "You cannot guarantee me that, Alan" she replied as she turned into him and held him close. "No, I can't but I can tell you that Jason is strong, and he's a fighter. You have to believe that." Her motherly tears moistened Alan's white coat as they stood outside their son's room. Since that fateful day many years ago, they had truly tried to be parents to Jason Morgan, yet he fought so hard to dismiss their affections. Even though they were not as close as they would of liked to be with Jason, he was still their son._

_Elizabeth spoke no truer words to her husband as he lye lifeless in the drab sheets of the hospital bed. She hoping that her soft voice would bring him back to her. He began to stir, she could feel the grip of his hand grow stronger with every word she spoke. A few brief moments past, and his eyes fluttered open slightly. She breathed a sigh of relief and said a little prayer of thanks for bringing him back to her. She turned and noticed Alan and Monica standing outside the room observing what had happened between her and Jason._

_"Dr. Quartermaines'! It's Jason .... I think he's waking up!" she stated overly excited about seeing Jason awaken from his medicated state. "Okay, okay .... let's check him out. It could be his body reacting." Alan said as he pulled out his light pen and checked Jason's eye reflexes. Jason stirred a little more and moaned groggily. His dry mouth inhibited him from speaking, but his eyes worked well as he noticed Elizabeth sitting by his side with the smile he loved so much. As Alan checked Jason reflexes to stimulants, Jason's eyes adjusted to the bright lights of the hospital room. Elizabeth's soothing voice reassured him of where he was and what was happening to him. "All looks good, Jason. Reflexes are all normal." Jason held his hand at his side and grimaced as he tried to re-position himself. "Okay, Jason .... " Monica said as she tried to prevent him from moving. "You're going to have lye still ... we don't want you moving around." she continued as Jason moaned in disgust. "Jason, you gotta listen to the doctors ... okay?" Elizabeth said trying to convince him he had to do what he was told. _

_He tried to speak but the breathing tube was causing an obstruction, so Alan explained to him that it needed to be removed before he tried to speak. Jason nodded that he understood and Alan went on about how they would remove it. "On the count of three, Jason ....okay?" Jason nodded again that he understood and in one fluid motion the tube was removed from his throat. He coughed as it exited his mouth, his voice hoarse, and rough, but it was a relief to be rid of the machine._

_"Now, can .... can I have a ... drink of ... water?" Jason asked in his rough voice. Alan smiled and chuckled. "Yeah, you can have a drink of water." Monica handed the white paper cup filled with water to Elizabeth and she stuck a straw in it for him to drink from. The water cold, it was irritating to the raw membranes of Jason's throat. He coughed as he tried to swallow the wetness. "Easy ... it'll take some time for your throat to heal. Take your time." Monica replied as Jason handed the cup back to his wife._

_Jason rubbed his throat with his hand in a soothing motion and tried to speak a few more words. "What .... cough .. what happened?" The three of them looked at each other and then at Jason .. "You don't remember?" Elizabeth asked. Jason turned his head and looked at his wife. "No ... tell me ..." he replied as he swallowed hard trying to relieve some the rawness in his throat._

_Lt. Taggert sat relaxed in his leather desk chair with his feet propped up on his mahogany desk looking over a case file that was given to him that afternoon. "Damn it! Another mob shootout! This needs to stop, and stop now!" he said loudly to himself as he got up from his chair and headed towards the door. He opened the door with purpose only to find a young man standing on the other side._

_"Lt. Taggert?" Taggert looked sternly at the young stranger and sighed in disgust. "Yeah, who the heck are you?" he replied as the young man passed him and entered his office. Taggert closed the door and looked over the young stranger who barged in unannounced. A rough, rugged young man in blue jeans, a tee shirt, and a hooded sweatshirt jacket, certainly not someone who looked like any importance. "Lt. Taggert, I'm Det. Jake Steel from the Miami Police Department." said the stranger as he extended his hand to Taggert. Taggert shook his hand and then passed by him throwing the file in his hand on the desk. He quickly turned around asked why he was there. "Well, Sir ... it seems my investigation has led me here to Port Charles and I'm hoping you can help me." the Detective replied as he took a step toward Taggert._

_Taggert intrigued by this young man, he offered him a seat and asked what kind of help he was looking for._


	5. Chapter 5

_Detective Steel stepped off the 8th floor elevator at General Hospital looking for some answers. He had spent over an hour with Lt. Taggert and had found out about the recent shootout on the docks. His curiosity got the better of him and he went to the hospital to see for himself what kind of danger had come to this city. _

_As he reached the nurse's station, Amy noticed the stranger approach and asked him if she could help him. He reached in his coat pocket and flashed his badge telling her who he was and that he was there to talk with the victims of the shootout that had been admitted. Amy hesitant and cautious of his intentions and his credentials, she pointed him in the direction of the ICU. She watched him as he walked passed her and then down the hallway._

_The detective was approached by Alan out in front of the ICU as he glared in at Jason lying in the hospital with Elizabeth sitting beside him. The nameplate on the door to the room read "Jason Morgan" "ICU # 2A", Jake jotted down his observations in his memory as Alan approached him. "Can I help you?" Alan asked as he looked over the rugged young man who stood watching his son. "I was told this young man is one of the victims of the shootout the other night." Jake replied as he turned around and faced the brut form of the Chief of Staff. "May I ask who you are?" Alan questioned as Elizabeth noticed the commotion outside the room. Jake pulled his badge from his jacket and explained to Alan who he was and that he was there to talk with Jason._

_"Alan?" Elizabeth said as she appeared from her husband's room. Both Alan and Jake turned towards her when she spoke, acknowledging she was there. "Mrs. Morgan?" Jake asked extended his hand to her. Elizabeth glanced down at it and hesitantly shook his hand. "Yes? I'm Jason's wife. Can I help you?" she inquired as Alan stepped in between Jake and Elizabeth. "Perhaps this isn't a good time, you should be in there with Jason." Alan replied and tried to guide her back into the room. Jake reached for Elizabeth's arm as she walked back into the room. "Wait .. I'd like to talk with you." he said as she turned around and looked over the young man. "Who are you?" she asked again, insistent this time. "Detective Jake Steel from the Miami PD. I'm here to talk with your husband about the shooting." Elizabeth looked back over her shoulder towards Jason and stepped out of the room so they wouldn't disturb him. "Jason's in no condition to talk to you .... Det .. Detective." she replied as she kept a watchful eye on her husband. "And I don't foresee him talking with you or any one else wearing a badge." she added as she looked at him sternly. She turned and walked back into the room and took her seat once again next to her husband._

_"I guess you will be leaving now." Alan stated as the young man watched Elizabeth and Jason through the plexi-glass window. She noticed him watching and went to close the blinds. Jake got her point and turned towards Alan who stood in the doorway of the room. "And the other person involved is ....?" Jake inquired as Alan crossed his arms in front of his chest. "On another floor. He was moved last night to another room." he replied giving Jake very little information about Zander's whereabouts. "You gonna tell me where to find him, or am I going to have search the hospital floor by floor?" Jake replied sarcastically. Alan sighed as he passed behind the young man and started walking away. "I can tell you, he's not going to be telling you anything either, Mr. Steel." Alan added as he turned back towards him. "I would at least like to see him." Jake added as he followed Alan down the hallway to the elevators. "4th floor ... room 228." Alan answered as he pushed the elevator down button. Jake nodded in acknowledgement and stepped onto the elevator as Alan continued down the hallway, knowing full well that with Emily there with Zander and Monica hanging around, he was sure the detective was going to come up empty in his search for answers._

_Jake stepped off the elevator on the 4th floor and made his way to the nurse's station. He asked where he could find Zander's room and the nurse graciously pointed him in the right direction. As he approached the room he noticed the door was standing open, and respectfully knocked on the door before entering the room. Emily sat by her husband's side as she noticed the young man appear in the doorway. "May I help you?" she asked as she got up from her seat and approached him with caution. "I hope so." Jake replied as he took one step into the hospital room. He noticed the equipment Zander was hooked up to before focusing on the young lady in front of him. Jake extended his hand and introduced himself. "I'm Zander's wife, Emily .... how can I help you? Detective." she replied as she escorted him outside the room so they not disturb Zander who was sleeping. _

_She was sure to keep a watchful eye on her husband as she stood in the doorway of the room. "I was hoping to talk with your husband, Emily." Jake inquired but by the look Emily shot back at him, he knew that wasn't happening. "I'm sure you know, Detective, my husband has been through alot over the past 3 days, he's in no condition to talk with anyone." she answered as she heard Zander becoming restless. Jake peered around the corner of the doorway to see if perhaps her husband was awake so he could ask him some questions. "I know it's been a terrible time for both of you, but if you could just give me 5 minutes ..." she interrupted with a direct and honest "...uh no." "I would really appreciate it if you'd come back at another time. My husband needs his rest and I can tell you this now, Zander's not going to tell you or anyone else wearing a badge, anything." _

_Emily added as she turned away from the detective and back into the room to be with her husband. Zander was no where near ready to talk with anyone, he was still recovering from surgery the day before and Emily wasn't about to allow some Detective to lurk about her husband like a vulture waiting for his prey._

_Jake stood outside Zander's hospital room for a couple more minutes just watching and observing her demeanor. Emily noticed him still hanging around outside the room, and she got up and closed the door to the room. Steele reached into his jacket pocket and stuck his business card in the nameplate outside the door hoping that either of them would change their minds and call him._

_"Okay, that went well ...." he mumbled under his breath as he walked down the hallway towards the elevators. As he walked passed the waiting area, he was approached. _

_"I thought I told you to leave my hospital?" Alan said as the detective tried to avoid a confrontation with the big man. _

_"Well now I have what I came for, I will be leaving." Steele lied through his teeth to the Chief of Staff, but he'd be back another day to get his answers._

_"I very much doubt that, especially if you were just talking with my daughter. You'd be lucky to get the time of day wearing that badge." Alan chuckled as Steele gave him a smug look before walking off._

_Alan knocked on the door to Zander's room and Emily cautiously opened it for him. "Hi sweetheart." he greeted her and gave her a peck on the cheek. "How's he doing?" her father asked as he approached Zander._

_Alan checked the monitors Zander was attached to and read the numbers hoping they would improve from the day before. "He isn't awake yet, so I guess he's doing about the same." Emily replied as she sniffled back the tears, wanting so much to stay strong._

_Alan checked Zander's pulse as he held Zander's wrist in his hand. Alan's face didn't tell Emily what she wanted to hear. "Dad, what's wrong?" she became worried and agitated._

_"Nothing, sweetheart. Nothing's wrong, I was expecting a stronger pulse that's all. He's fine." Emily sighed heavily, she didn't know what she'd do if she lost him._

_"How's Devon?" she asked. Devon had been staying at the mansion while Zander was in the hospital, she wanted to spend as much time with him as she could, so her parents had offered to take Devon for a while._

_"Devon's great. He's really a blessing in our house. Your grandfather is spoiling him rotten." Alan laughed. "I can just imagine ...." Emily replied with a smile. It's the first smile Alan had seen on his daughter in days. He wished he would have some good news to tell her to bring a smile to her face like that one. Zander was just the same, and the prognosis wasn't looking any better as time went on._

_"Do you think Reginald could bring Devon by later? I'd love to spend some time with him, I could take him to the children's center for a while." Emily asked. She missed her little boy and just needed to tell him how much she loved him._

_"Sure, I'll call home and have Reginald bring Devon to the hospital." he agreed with her request and she got up from her seat and went to him. "Thanks Dad, it really means alot to me to have Devon here." Alan embraced his daughter and gave her all the love he could muster._

_Emily sniffled back the tears as she watched her husband sleeping, she prayed he'd wake up, he needed to wake up if he was going to get better. The longer he was out, the worse his chances got of a recovery. "Don't worry, Zander's gonna be fine, he's a fighter, Em. He survived our family hasn't he?" Alan joked hoping to see that smile again on Em's face. She mustered a giggle. "Yeah he has." Her tears moistened her father's white doctor coat as she kept watch on her husband._

_Alan pulled from the embrace and cupped his large hands around Emily's chin. "Zander is going to get through this, you have to believe that, Em." He could see it in her eyes, she wasn't holding on to much hope. "I know. Would you come with me to the chapel? I want to light a candle for Zander and for Jason." she asked as she wiped the tears from her eyes. _

_"Sure I'll go with you, sweetheart." he replied with sincerity as she looked once more at her husband before she left the room. Alan walked out of the room and waited for her in the hallway. She pulled the door closed and they went to say a prayer to bring Zander back to her and their son._


	6. Chapter 6

_Emily stood in the doorway of her brother's room and cautiously approached his bedside. She had waited till Elizabeth had taken a walk before she came in to see Jason. She didn't feel the tension would be good for his recovery. As she approached him, he awoke from his light sleep._

_"Hi." he said as she took a seat on the swivel stool next to the bed. "Hi." was all she could say. She wasn't sure what to say to him. He had always been there for her and now they were on opposite sides. She didn't want anything to come in between them, but something had. She sat searching for the words to express how she felt at that very moment, her brother and her husband both fought so hard to survive this ordeal, words were hard to come by. Jason reached for her hand and she squeezed it tight. She knew he was of few words and with one squeeze of her hand, she felt she needed no words to express how much she loved him and how sorry she was that this had to happen._

_Jason cracked a smile when his wife appeared in the doorway. Emily turned to see Elizabeth standing there with a cup of coffee in her hand and a smile on her face. "I ... uh ... just stopped by to see how he was doing." Emily said as she rose from the stool and headed towards the doorway. "Oh ..." Elizabeth replied softly and nodded as she passed and left the room. Emily stood outside and blew a kiss to Jason through the plate-glass window. _

_She hated that a friendship like Elizabeth and she had was strained because of the feud between their husbands. Emily just wished it could be like it was before all this had started a year or so ago. Zander had inherited his portion of the territory after his uncle passed away last year, he had been molded by Sonny, and she thought Jason resented that from the start, but he never spoke of it with her. After Zander took over the territory, the tension between she and Elizabeth grew to enormous proportions. It had taken a tragedy like this one, to bring them to speaking terms, but she figured who better to know how you feel is the best friend who is going through the same thing she was._

_Emily turned and walked down the hallway back to Zander's room._

_It had been over a week since his surgery and Zander was awake and being poked and prodded by his father-in-law it was not something he was used to. He grimaced as he tried to re-position his body so he'd be more comfortable. He hated hospitals, and it seemed he always ended up there for one reason or another. Before leaving, Alan jotted down a few notes in Zander's chart and told him his prognosis was good. Zander's eyes lit up when he saw Emily walk into the room, as she passed her dad on his way, he told her that Zander was doing fine and he was alot stronger then he was the day before, he'd back later to check in on Zander again._

_She watched her dad leave the room and took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Listen, there was a guy here last week, and he wanted to ask you some questions about what happened on the docks." she began as she could see the concerned look on his face. "And ...?" he replied wanting to hear more. "And ... I told him to go away, I told him that you were in no shape to talk with anyone, even if he did wear a badge." Zander groaned as he propped himself up on the pillow. "A badge? A cop?" he inquired still wanting details about this stranger asking questions. "He told me his name was Detective Jake Steel and he was from Miami. What I can't figure out is why he'd be interested in anything that's going on here in Port Charles?" she had a few questions of her own, and from the evasive look on Zander's face, she wasn't sure if he really wanted her to pursue it. "I need you do something for me, Em. I need you stay away from this Detective." Emily bit her bottom lip wondering why. She was about to ask, and he told her not to, just do it. She agreed, even though in the back of her mind, she wondered why her husband asked this of her. _

_"One more thing, Em ..." he continued. "Anything." she replied with a smile as always. "I need you to call Ric. I need to see him." Just something else that posed more questions. "Why Ric?" she thought, but she did as he asked. "Okay, I'll see if I can track him down."_

_Ric Lansing hadn't been town all that long, less than a year and had already found what he wasn't expecting to find when he stepped foot in Port Charles. A well educated man, he had been given a lot of material things growing up as a child, more material then emotional. So much pressure from his father to do well in school, in life. It was hard to live up to. He was a young boy when his parents divorced, he living with his father till he was 18, then off to college to earn a degree in Business, then Law school ... only the best for the son of a Senator. His mom, still young, remarried a wonderful man in her eyes, Ric wasn't too pleased. He was into dirty dealings and had shady connections that were dangerous. Ric was surprised to find out when he came home from college during a winter break that his mother had a child with this man. A man he thought was all wrong for her. Ric had just hoped that this young child would not fall victim to his father's controlling and dangerous ways._

_Arriving in Port Charles, one thing had brought him to this waterfront town ... Sonny Corinthos. He soon found out that Sonny was not the only reason he needed to stay. The two half brothers were surprised to find each other eating at the same diner for months and not even realizing who the other was. It surely took Ric by surprise when he sat eating breakfast one morning and saw a young man walk into Kelly's who seemed familiar. His eyes seemed to have something Ric had seen all his life ... it was like looking in the mirror and seeing a part of you staring back. He approached the young man and introduced himself. Being leery of a stranger, the other young man was cautious. Ric reassured him that he wanted nothing from him, just some answers to a few questions. The young man shook Ric's hand and introduced himself as Zander Smith._

_Zander and Ric got acquainted and found that they had similar pasts. Zander not really knowing much about his family, he had spent most of his time away from home in boarding schools and when he was home, he was pushed aside like last week's news. It was like putting the pieces of a puzzle together, when each piece was finally in it's rightful place, it had revealed that these two who had just met, were indeed half brothers. For Zander it was a chunk of his life he had soon forget, being unwanted by parents, never loved as he should of been, he ran away from that life a long time ago and never looked back. Ric, wishing he could of run from a family life that was suffocating him._

_Ric sat eating his lunch at his favorite eatery, Kelly's. He had moved out months ago, but still love to come and people watch. As he took the last bite of his sandwich, his cell phone rang. He reached in his jacket pocket and flipped it open. "Yes." he answered. He recognized the voice on the other end without her telling him who she was. "Ric? It's Emily Smith. Zander needs to see you at the hospital." He didn't ask questions, he told her he'd be there within the hour and flipped closed his phone. He paid his bill and grabbed his overcoat and headed out the door. "Now what, little brother. What have you got yourself into?" he mumbled under his breath as he stepped outside into the winter chill._

_The automatic doors of the hospital opened as he approached and he made his way to the nurse's station, only to find Emily waiting for him. "Hi. Thanks for coming so quickly." she said as she extended her hand to him. "Sure, why wouldn't I come. My brother needs me." he replied as he shook her hand out of respect. "Come on, I'll take you too him." she said as she escorted him down the hallway._

_Emily and Ric reached Zander's room, and he smiled when he saw both of them approach the bedside. "Sweetheart, could you leave us alone for a little while?" Emily smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Sure, I'll go see how my brother's doing." Zander thanked her as she stepped away from him. Ric took a seat next to the bed after he removed his overcoat and laid it across the bottom of the bed._

_Zander moaned as he tried to prop himself up so he could sit more erect in the bed. "Thank you for coming." he said as he looked at his brother sitting next to him. "No thanks needed. It sounded urgent." Ric replied. "Yes it is .... Detective Jake Steel._


	7. Chapter 7

_Another week had passed and Zander was finally ready to be released from the hospital. Emily and Devon had been playing in the waiting room for about an hour before Monica came to get them. _

_"Hey, there's my big boy!" she said to Devon as she approached him. He looked up, smiled and reached for the person he knew as grandma. She picked him up in her arms and kissed him on his cheek, just hugging the stuffing out of him. Emily collected Devon's toys laying on the table in front her and put them back in the diaper bag that sat next to her on the floor. _

_"So can I take Zander home?" Emily asked as she zipped the bag closed. Monica was admiring how big Devon was getting, as he took hold of the stethoscope around her neck. _

_"Oh, yeah, sweetie. Just a few more minutes." her mom replied as Alan approached them. Alan came up behind Monica and smiled at Devon. He smiled at his grandpa and reached for him. _

_"Oh come here." he said as he held out his hands to his grandson. _

_"Hi sweetie, you guys here to pick up Daddy." he said to the young toddler. _

_"Yes dad we are, if we can get all the paper work in order." Emily noticed a volunteer pushing her husband in a wheel chair around the corner and headed towards them. "Finally." she exclaimed as she hurried to him. She embraced him as her parents and Devon approached. _

_Alan was carrying Devon in his arms and his face just lit up when he saw his daddy for the first time in over a week. He reached for him wanting to sit with Zander on the wheel chair. Alan passed Devon to his father as Emily signed the last piece of paperwork for Zander's release. She turned back towards her family and took the bag from her mother and hung it on her shoulder. _

_"How's Jason?" she asked as she heard Zander and Devon giggling behind her.. _

_"Jason's going to be fine, a few more days in the hospital to rest, he should be good as new." her mom replied just as the beeper she had in pocket began to beep._

_She reached in her pocket and checked the message. "I gotta go, I will call you later, sweetheart." she gave Emily and Devon kisses on their cheeks before she raced to the emergency that called her away. Alan signed the release papers and Zander was free to go. _

_"Can I go home now?" Zander asked as Emily took Devon from him. _

_"Yes you can, but I wouldn't try to do too much for the next couple of days, take it easy, okay." Alan replied as he saw his son in law was anxious to go home. _

_"He'll take it easy, believe me." Emily replied as she reassured her father that Zander would not strain himself once he got home. The volunteer wheel Zander to the elevator and pushed the button to go down. Emily held Devon in her arms and they entered the elevator as Alan watched from the nurse's station, he waved and Devon waved in return. Alan smiled at his grandson as the elevator doors slid shut._

_The limo pulled up outside their apartment building and shut off the engine. Emily gathered Devon's things and climbed out of the car. Their driver, Marcus, opened Zander's door and assisted him from the car. Emily released Devon from his car seat and scooped him up into her arms as Zander leaned on Marcus and walked towards the door of the building. Emily grabbed the bag and followed them thru the automated sliding glass doors and towards the elevators. Zander left Marcus know that he and his family would be okay, and Marcus could tend to the limo. Marcus followed the instructions his boss gave him as Zander and his family entered the elevator, the door slid shut as Emily pushed the button for the top floor._

_The doors slid open when it reached it's destination, and Zander cautiously stepped out into the hallway of the 19th floor. Cord was standing guard outside their penthouse and came to assist his boss and the family. Emily opened the door of their apartment and went inside as Zander talked a few minutes with Cord just outside the doorway. Cord nodded in acknowledgement and Zander came inside. Emily unloaded her shoulder as she dropped the diaper bag on the floor and carried Devon to the couch. She took a seat next to him and unzipped his jacket. Zander slowey moved towards them stopping for a minute to take a look at the papers laying on his desk. _

_"Oh no .. no work, you are suppose to rest, remember?" Emily said as she quickly picked up Devon and hurried towards her husband who was reading what the papers contained._

_"I was just reading, geezsh!" Zander replied as Emily's hand flipped closed the folder and then grabbed his hand wanting him to follow her. He reluctantly followed, wanting so badly to throw himself back into work, against doctor's orders. Emily was ready to place Devon into the playpen but Zander couldn't resist reaching for his son as he sat down on the couch. Devon smiled at his dad as Zander took him into his arms and sat him on his lap. _

_"You have grown so big ..." he said to the toddler as he ran his hand over the toddler's thin black hair. Emily just smiled at knowing she finally had her family all together again. She loved to watch Zander and Devon, they were a lot alike, in so many ways. Devon had Zander's eyes, he had Zander's hair, he definitely had Zander's strong will and stubbornness, he certainly was father's son, no doubt._

_The darkness fell on Port Charles, as Zander watched over Emily and Devon drifting off to sleep on their queen sized bed. He scooped his son up in his arms and slowly walked with him to the nursery across the hall. He placed his son in the mahogany crib and rubbed his tummy in small circles trying to soothe him back to sleep. Zander kept his balance by leaning against the crib, and quickly turned as he heard the soft footsteps creep up behind him. Emily stood in the doorway and watched a few precious father and son moments from afar._

_"Hey ...." Zander whispered as she approached. _

_"I thought you were asleep?" he asked as she walked closer to him. _

_"And I thought you were suppose to rest?" He pulled her close to him in a loving embrace and gently kissed her. Devon was sleeping soundly as they left the nursery and walked across the hall to their bedroom, Emily went to turn down the bed as Zander followed. She walked to the other side of the bed and turned down the blankets, and removed her silk robe and slippers. She climbed into bed and watched him slowly removed his navy blue robe revealing the white gauze bandages around his waist that hid the results of the worst fear that had come true. _

_Meanwhile, Detective Steele kept watch on the front door of the apartment building from his car across the street. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched from afar._

_Daylight soon came over the horizon of the bay, and Zander awoke to the ring of his cell phone that was tucked away in his jacket pocket which hung on the back of the chair. He slowly slipped from the bed and tried to keep his balance as he walked over to answer it, wincing with every step. He flipped it open and said hello to who was calling. _

_"Zander? You have company that has been sitting outside the building all night." the voice said as Zander padded out into the hallway with his bare feet. _

_"Is it Steele?" Zander asked as he walked to the elongated window the looked out over the street. _

_"Yeah, he's been sitting out here waiting since you got home last night." his brother replied as Zander caught a glimpse of the unmarked car sitting towards the end of the block. _

_"Why don't you come on in for some coffee and we'll talk about it?" Zander offered and his brother quickly accepted._

_A few minutes later Ric was at the door, Zander grabbed his robe and went downstairs. Cord opened the door for Ric just as Zander reached for the door knob. Ric came and threw his jacket over the chair. The two shook hands like brothers should, and walked into the kitchen. Ric took a seat at the kitchen table while Zander made a fresh pot of coffee. _

_"Emily upstairs?" Ric asked as he glanced up towards the stairs. _

_"Yes she is, so we have some time to talk about Steel before she comes down and has to feed Devon." Zander poured two cups of coffee and set one cup in front of Ric and kept the other in his hand as he took a seat at the table. _

_"What did you find out about this Det. Steel?" he inquired as he cautiously took a sip. Ric reached for the packets of sugar that sat on the table and opened a few of them into his cup. _

_"First, how are you?" Ric concerned about his brother. "I'll live, so what did you find out?" Zander replied bluntly wanting to know more about this Detective._

_"Detective Steel? Well, Detective Steele is on a murder case, a cold case that went cold about 2 weeks after it happened. Lack of witnesses, I guess. No leads to go on, so they stashed it in the cold case files. His father worked on the case originally and when he became Detective, he picked it up off the pile and started digging. Apparently the trail as led him to you." Ric explained_

_"What else did you find out?" Ric sipped his coffee and told Zander as much as he could about the man who was apparently quite interested in his comings and goings. "So in other words, my family is still ...." Zander barked at his brother as Emily stood in the doorway with Devon. "....in danger." she continued his thought as she walked passed him and sat Devon in his high chair._

_Worry and concern over took Zander and Ric's faces as Emily became a part of their conversation. "Unfortunately, yes that's what it means ... at least until we find out why the trail led this Detective to Zander." _

_Suddenly there was noise coming from outside in the hallway. Ric rushed to the front door, Zander followed leaving Emily and Devon in the kitchen. The door flew open as Cord had the dark haired stranger by the scruff of the neck, Marcus soon followed close behind._

_"I'm sorry sir for barging in but we found this one lurking around, thought you may want to have a word or two with him." Cord explained as he released his grasp with a shove and the stranger stumbled to regain his balance. "Hey watch the suit!" the stranger said as he adjusted the attire he was wearing. The dark haired stranger was nicely dressed in a dark navy blue suit and tie, Ric had his own suspicions about this Detective but didn't let on to what they were. _

_Emily peered out from the kitchen to see what was going on, Devon in his high chair waiting to be fed breakfast, she turned and went to give him his morning bottle. She scooped him up in her arms, grabbed the bottle from the table and whisked him out of the kitchen and away from harm as she scurried through the living room and up the stairs, not taking a second look at what was going on right there in front of her._

_The dark haired stranger noticed her as she hurried passed them and up the stairs, Zander glared in his direction as the Detective watched Emily disappear at the top of the stairs. "Answer me this, who are you and what are you doing lurking outside this particular building." Zander asked as he winced cause he felt some pain around the wounds that were healing. _

_"So you're Zander Smith." Steele said as he walked towards Zander. "Yeah now we know who I am, why don't you tell us who you are?" Zander had always had the cockiness when confronted, Ric smirked at his brother's remark._

_"I was the stranger that came to see you a few weeks ago in the hospital, I'm sure your lovely wife told you about it." he still evading the question, Zander still not amused with the stranger standing in his living room._

_"Why don't you just tell us who you are and why your here?" Ric demanded, he was losing his patience, even if Zander wasn't._

_The stranger went to pull his badge from his jacket pocket and Marcus stepped forward, ready to take him down if need be. "Hey, woah .. I'm just reaching for my identification, big guy." he snarked and Marcus backed off a little bit. Steele pulled out his badge and handed it to Zander. Ric grabbed it first and inspected it. Ric didn't really need to see any identification from Steele, he already knew more about Steele then Steele knew about himself. _

_"The badge still doesn't tell us what you're doing here in Port Charles, especially all the way from Miami." Zander said as he handed the badge back to the Detective._

_"Well, ya see, funny story ... I kinda inherited a case .. a murder case, from my father, and though the trail was cold 15 years ago, it's getting alot warmer over the past few months. And it led me to you." Steele answered as Ric and Marcus had words, and Marcus returned to his post outside the door._

_Steele noticed the cold eyes Zander had, it was apparent he wasn't about to tell him much of anything about this case. "And see the shooting a few weeks ago, I seem to think that the two are connected somehow. Care to tell me about the how you got shot?" Steele asked as he noticed Zander holding his hand against his side that was bandaged._

_"I don't ...." Zander began, but Ric stepped in. "Don't say a word, Zander. Not a word."_

_"What are you his attorney or something?" Steele asked as Ric came face to face with him. _

_"As a matter of fact .. yes I am. As of this minute, I'm his attorney of record. Do you have a problem with that Detective?" Ric said sternly._

_"You can't do that. That would be a conflict of interest for you ... Mr. Lansing." Steele replied knowing full well who he was talking to._

_"And why do you say that, Mr. Steele." Ric answered as Steele grinned._

_"Oh yes, you're name came up Mr. Lansing in some of our reports over the past few months, actually having alot to do with your little brother, there. He's been in alot of messes lately." Ric tried to remain calm as he closed the gap between he and the Detective._

_"I don't know what you want from Zander, but he isn't talking to you or to any one else about this murder case or about the shooting a few weeks ago. And I suggest, that if you want to keep breathing, you will be leaving this apartment ... in 10 seconds." Ric threatened as Steele became very nervous._

_"Did you just threaten me, Mr. Lansing?" Steele asked as his confidence was given a shot in the arm._

_"Me? I didn't threaten you, Mr. Steele ... just giving you some friendly advice, is all. Now whether you take it or is up to you." Ric smirked as he smoothed out Steele's suit with his hands. He knew he had Steele squirming in his boots and he was going to enjoy ever minute of it._

_Zander stood back and enjoyed the show as he grinned watching his brother do what he did best. If this wasn't proof that he and Ric were related he didn't know what would be. _

_"Looks to me like you're running out of options, Detective." Ric added as he went to the door and opened it for the officer. _

_"Looks to me like the two of you will be seeing me again." Ric returned a smirk to him. "We'll be looking forward to it, Detective." Steele walked out of the apartment and to the elevators, hearing Ric's last words before the door slammed shut._


	8. Chapter 8

_Emily waited till she heard the door slam before she took one step down the stairs. She had put Devon back in his crib after feeding him his breakfast, she figured he'd go back to sleep for a few more hours, that seemed to his routine lately. She made her way down the stairs just as Zander and Ric began talking about something she shouldn't be hearing, because as soon as they noticed she was in the room, they clammed up as usual._

_"Don't mind me, I'm just heading to the kitchen, please continue to hold your conversation that you don't want me to hear." she cracked as she passed through the living room on the way to the kitchen to get breakfast for herself._

_"Is she always like that?" Ric asked with a chuckle. "The attitude?" Zander asked. "Yeah ever since Devon came along, it's gotten worse." he added with a roll of his eyes._

_They both sat down on the couch as Emily walked through the living room again, and smirked in Zander's direction. As she made her way up the stairs he shouted to her ...."And no listening at the top of the stairs, either." She peeked down from the landing ... "I wasn't going to, but that's not a bad idea." she teased. "Hey aren't you suppose to be resting? she asked. "Can't rest, not with Steele out there building a case against me or whatever he's out there doing." Zander replied and watched her disappear up the stairs._

_"So what do you want me to do?" Ric asked as he poured coffee from the decanter that sat on the table, into a coffee cup that sat on the tray next to it. "About Steele? Nothing. Let's see what he digs up first. He may end up doing all of the work, and we can reap the rewards." Zander replied as he placed his hand on his side again._

_"First thing we have to take care of is Jason. I have that shipment coming in tonight and I don't want anything to go wrong with it." Zander continued as he winced because he leaned to reach his coffee cup on the table in front of him. "You don't have worry, I've got things taken care of." Ric replied._

_"Yeah that's what I heard the last time, and I got shot. I'm not taking any chances this time. I spent a week cooped up in the hospital, and I didn't waste my time playing checkers. I have a plan already set to go in motion tonight, a few hours before the shipment is suppose to be delivered. Just make sure someone else in the department knows about the shipment tonight and the rest will take care of it itself. Trust me." Zander said with a devilish grin._

_Ric wondered what his little brother had up his sleeve. He was planning something and usually that meant Sonny or Jason was taking the fall. "Care to fill me in?" Ric asked wanting to know what he should expect at the warehouse._

_"No, the less you know the better. It keeps you out of danger and lets you keep your job." Zander replied as he got up from the couch and started walking around the room, hoping by moving the twinges he was feeling would go away._

_Ric took the last swallow of his coffee and set the cup down on the table. "Well, I must be going. I have a few appointments this afternoon at the courthouse. We will talk later." He excused himself and left._

_Nightfall came soon enough as everything Zander had planned was in place. He had sent his men to the warehouse and had them prepare for the shipment, just as they were expected to. He knew if Jason couldn't be there, Sonny would, he wouldn't let a shipment pass through his territory that wasn't his own. Zander laid back against the cushion of the couch and thought about the satisfaction he would be getting in a few hours._

_Emily had taken Devon to visit with her parents, so Zander was left alone to fend for himself till she returned. He was interrupted though as Cord knocked. "Yeah, what?" he asked as he lifted himself from the couch, holding his bandaged area with his hand. "You have a visitor, sir." Cord announced as he opened the door and stepped inside. Zander didn't get the chance to ask who it was before they stepped inside the apartment. "Sorry sir, she didn't want to wait. She says it's important."_

_"Elizabeth, you shouldn't be here." Zander said as she stepped further inside the penthouse. "Yeah I know but I wanted to see the man who shot my husband." she said as he stepped towards her. His eyes widened in surprise that she'd risk it to confront him about the shooting. "Hey wait I didn't shoot Jason, remember I was shot myself." he replied as he showed her his bandages. "Yeah well, Jason isn't that lucky, Zander. He's still in the hospital thanks to you."_

_"Okay, I can see this isn't going to go anywhere, so why don't you go back to the hospital and be with your husband." Zander replied trying to convince her to leave. She turned to leave just as Cord opened up the door and Emily stood face to face with her friend._

_"And what are you doing here, Elizabeth? Shouldn't you be at the hospital with my brother?" Emily lashed out. "I just came to see Zander and to confront the man who put your brother and my husband in the hospital! Zander should be the one lying in the hospital bed, not Jason!" Elizabeth snapped back at Emily. _

_"You know what, don't even go there with me, Elizabeth. We both know that Zander nor Jason deserved to be shot that night, they should of been with us, but they weren't, they made their own choice to be on docks. It happened, and there's nothing that can change it. Now I am sorry Jason was hurt and that he's still in the hospital. He's my brother for God sake and I love him! I never wanted any of this to happen, but it did. Now if you want to stand here and compare rap sheets .... by all means, fire away. Cause you and I both know, neither of our husbands are saints and neither of them have a squeaky clean background! But go ahead, let's see who racks up the most points. Shall we?" Elizabeth turned to leave after Emily's rant. "Yeah didn't think so." Cord followed Elizabeth to the elevator and Emily slammed the door._

_"Wow, you are a feisty one aren't you?" Zander said as he followed Emily into the living room area. "Yeah got something to say about it?" she spouted off at him. "No I just think it's mighty sexy on you, though." he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. She giggled at his remark. "Uh huh, I suppose you're going to tell me I shouldn't of done that, ranted like that with Elizabeth?" she asked as he leaned down and kissed her. "No not at all, actually I found it quite entertaining." he said jokingly._

_"Hey I thought you were bringing Devon home with you?" he asked as he noticed he wasn't with her. "No mom's keeping him overnight. He was out like a light and I hated to wake him to bring him home, besides they love to have him sleep over." she replied._

_"Have you had dinner yet?" he asked as he still held her in his arms. "No what did you have in mind?" she teased. "Well, not that since I'm suppose to be taking it easy, doctor's orders." he smirked. "We could order in .. I don't feel like cooking tonight, if that's okay with you?" she sighed heavily as if she was exhausted from a hard day's work. "Yeah that's fine with me." he replied as she smiled cause she got her way again._

_"Great, I'll go get the take out menus, you sit and relax. You're suppose to resting." she giggled as she squirmed away from his grasp on her and left the room._

_He sat down on the couch and leaned back, still snickering at the feistiness she possesses. He didn't know she had it in her, but when push comes to shove, he knows Emily will stand by him, she always has._


	9. Chapter 9

_He and Emily had ordered in pizza for dinner, which made her happy, and that in turn made him happy. He was glad Devon was spending the night with the Quartermaines, just in case the plans for bringing down Sonny were to go wrong, he was sure Mac would be knocking on his door first. His cell phone rang shortly after midnight, which wasn't unusual. Emily turned away from him as he got up to answer it._

_"Yeah, this better be good news." he said to the person that was calling. "Turn on your television, boss." You're not going to like it." the voice said and he quickly went to turn it on. The became clear as he stood watching the chaos that had erupted on the docks. "Dammit! Talk to me, what did we lose?" he questioned. "I don't have the exact figures, but enough, whatever was in that shipment is now scattered across the Port Charles bay." Zander wasn't liking what he was hearing about his shipment. "Anyone hurt?" he asked concerned about his guards who went down to make sure the shipment arrived. "Nobody hurt, just a whole lot of bang." said his contact. "Yeah I can imagine. Well, get the men back here, I want to meet with all of you .. now." he ordered as he stood and watched what the local news was reporting about the explosion in the harbor earlier that night._

_"Hey what's the big idea having the television on, some people are trying to get some sleep." Emily said as she shielded her eyes from the light coming off the tv. "It's nothing, go back to sleep. I gotta go. I'll be back as soon as I can." he said as he quickly got dressed. "You are in no shape to be going anywhere, Zander. You're still re-cooperating from having a bullet taken out of you." she replied concerned for him. "This can't wait, sweetheart. I have to go take care of something. I'll see you in a little while." he replied as he gave her a kiss on the cheek before leaving her alone for the night. Zander had left in such a hurry he forgot to turn off the set. Emily sat up in bed and watched the chaos that was happening down on the docks. "Earlier tonight a ship coming into dock at Pier 12 exploded. No injuries were reported, and we are still waiting to hear from investigators as to what really happened here tonight. We have no new information about this situation, other then the ship that exploded was owned by Port Charles business man, Zander Smith. We have yet to make contact with Mr. Smith to find out the details regarding why the ship was in Port Charles harbor and what if anything the ship was carrying. The Port Charles police department are on the scene and are still investigating this most recent explosion, this coming on the heels of a shooting 2 weeks ago involving a few individuals from Port Charles. Names were not disclosed to the public, but our sources tell us that Jason Morgan and Zander Smith were both taken and admitted to General Hospital for gunshot wounds. We will have more on this story, as well as the explosion here tonight, as soon as more information becomes available." Emily shut off the television as she quickly got out of bed and went to the window to see if she could see the chaos the reporter talked about._

_As she peered out the window into the darkness, the sky lit up in red lights as she watched from the 19th floor penthouse across town. She knew this is where Zander had run off to, and immediately became concerned for him. She was glad Devon was at her parent's, she didn't want him to see what was going to happen if Mac would come to arrest Zander, yet again._

_She slipped on her robe and slippers and padded her way downstairs to the kitchen. She was wide awake now and there was no sleeping for her tonight, not till Zander returned home safely. She made a pot of fresh coffee and sat down at the counter with the cell phone in her hand. She wanted it to be near her in case Zander would call._

_She heard the door and quickly went to see who it was. She ran out into the living room area only to find Johnny waiting for her. She sighed heavily, disappointed it wasn't Zander. Johnny saw the disappointment in her eyes. "Sorry, I know you were expecting him." Johnny replied as Emily approached him. "Yeah I was. Do you know where he ran off to?" she asked even though she knew Johnny couldn't tell her anything. "You know I can't tell you that. Don't worry, he'll be fine. Marcus and Cord are with him." Johnny tried to reassure her that her husband would come home to her safe and sound. "I just came in to check on you. I'll be on guard outside the door if you need anything." he said before he left, leaving her to worry about her husband, alone. She headed back towards the kitchen, the coffee should be done brewing by now. She thought to herself._

_She sat down on the stool at the counter and poured herself a cup. She sat worried about her husband and wondering what was going on down on the docks. She peered out the kitchen window and saw the red lights flashing from all the emergency vehicles on the scene. She turned on the small television that sat in the corner, on the counter, and changed the channel to watch the news broadcast about the explosion. She watched in fear, afraid that at any moment, the police could be arresting her husband for what had happened._

_It had been hours, since Zander had left and she was becoming more and more worried about him. She sat on the couch waiting for him, like she always did. She began to fear the worst, when the door opened and he walked in. "Oh thank God" she cried as she got up quickly and went to him. "Are you okay? I was worried." she asked as he embraced her. "Yeah I'm fine, just had a little business to take care of." he replied and walked with her to the couch. "It was all over the late news. Anything to be concerned about?" she asked as he laid back against the cushions of the couch. "Nothing for you to be concerned with. Things are all taken care of." he replied. She knew when to stop talking, and this was the time._

_"Well, I'm going to bed. You coming?" she asked as she got up and headed for the stairs. "Yeah in a minute." he replied as he turned his head back to look at her. "Okay...." she said before she climbed the stairs to the bedroom. As she disappeared out of sight, Cord came in the front door. "Sir, your brother is here to see you." Cord announced as Ric stood in the doorway. "Come on in, Ric." Zander said as he motioned for him to enter the apartment._

_"What the heck happened tonight?" Ric questioned as he approached Zander._

_"I don't know, it was obviously done on purpose." Zander wasn't too concerned with finding out who did it, he already knew who._

_"You think Sonny did this?" Ric asked. "Yeah I do. I think it was retaliation for the shooting. I think Sonny thinks I was the one who set up the ambush on the docks and got Jason shot." Zander answered._

_Ric looked at him point blank and asked "Well did you, Zander? Did you set Jason up?"_


	10. Chapter 10

_"Off the record?" Zander asked before admitting to anything. "Never mind, I don't want to know." Ric replied as he turned and headed towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, get some rest." he added as he left the apartment. Rest? Zander couldn't get any rest, his shipment just blew up in the Port Charles harbor. He went to the door and locked it when his brother left. Zander retired for the evening, thankful he was alive to live another day._

_When he entered the bedroom, he noticed Emily asleep, or so he thought. He got himself undressed and climbed into be with her, pulling the blankets up over him. He laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. Both of them lay awake concerned about what tomorrow may bring down on their family. It was only a few short hours till daylight and his day started all over again. He closed his eyes and tried to get some needed sleep. She turned her head towards him to see if he was asleep. He hadn't said a word when he came to bed, though she didn't think he knew she laid awake waiting for him. Being careful of his healing wounds, she moved closer to him slowly, and he felt her against him as he winced when he felt a twinge of pain. He wrapped his arm around her and tipped his head down and kissed on top of her head. "I love you, baby." he said and she looked up at him. "I love you too." she returned and with a smile. She closed her eyes and fell asleep in the arms of the man she loved._

_The smoke from the explosion hours earlier had cleared the way for the sun that rose over the horizon of the harbor. Zander climbed out of bed and slipped on his robe and slippers. He looked back over his shoulder and saw her sleeping peacefully. He walked down the stairs to the kitchen and made a fresh pot of coffee. After last night he need something stronger, but with the medications he was taking, coffee was the strongest drink he'd be having for a while. He noticed as he passed through the living room, Cord had already brought in the morning paper and laid it on his desk. While the coffee was brewing, Zander walked out to his desk to get the newspaper. He stopped shy of the desk and read the big headlines on the front page. "Mob Takes Another Hit". He got closer to read the subtitle of the article, but he didn't have to read the rest of the aritcle to know it was about him and his feud with Sonny and Jason. "PC Businessman's Ship Explodes in PC's Harbor" "Great! Just freakin' great! This is all I need, a front page story. Don't these people ever sleep?! Dammit!" he cursed as he heard the door open and Cord enter behind him. "Sir? You alright?" his guard asked as Zander leaned himself against the desk chair. "Call my brother, and get him over here. Now." Zander ordered. Cord did as his boss told him to and Zander picked up the paper and took it with him to the kitchen. He was sure his shouting woke up Emily, and she was bound to see these headlines. He threw down the paper on the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. He went and sat down on the stool and opened up the morning edition of the Port Charles Herald._

_Zander didn't hear Emily sneak up behind him as she looked over his shoulder at what he was reading. "That's a nice picture of you, honey." she snickered and then gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Ya think? I thought the other one last week was better." he replied with sarcasm. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" he added, trying to make light of the situation. She turned around and looked at him. "Now why would I enjoy seeing your picture on the front page and especially with the heading "Mob Takes Another Hit"?" she asked with a serious expression. "That ship last night could of been our limo or could of been this apartment, Zander. ... no I am scared to death and making a joke out of this is alot easier to do then face the fears that I'm feeling right now." she replied with a scowl on her face. "I'm sorry, you have every right to be afraid. You're right it could of been the limo or this apartment, that's why I have asked Ric to stop by. I'd like to have more security put in place around here." he replied as she took her first sip of her morning coffee that she poured herself._

_Zander even hated to suggest what he was thinking, but he did anyway and waited to hear her object to it. "I think Devon should stay with your parents for while. I don't want him around this stuff going on right now. Maybe it would be safe for the two of you to stay at the estate for a while, at least till all this blows over." She stood and thought about what he said and she thought he was right. "Maybe your right. I think it would be safer for us to stay at the house, at least for a while. I don't want to bring Devon home to this warzone, and that's what this is, Zander." Zander shocked that she agreed with him, they were always on opposite sides when it comes to what was best for her and Devon. She set down her coffee cup hard on the countertop and walked out of the kitchen. He knew from the tone in her voice, she was upset with him for asking that she and Devon stay at her parents for a while. He thought it best for his family. "She'll get over it." he muttered to himself as he heard Cord calling him from the other room._

_"Sir, your brother is here to see you." Cord announced as Zander appeared from the kitchen. "Thanks Cord." he replied as Ric walked in the door. "I take it you saw this morning's paper?" Ric asked as he followed his brother into the kitchen. "Yeah I did and lets just say that on top of this, Emily's not happy with me this morning." Ric helped himself to a cup of coffee as Zander sat back down on the stool. "Why is she upset with you this time, what did you suggest now?" Ric chuckled. "I suggested she and Devon stay at the Quartermaines for a while till all this blows over. I'm thinking of their safety, Ric. I don't want what happened to the ship last night, happen to the limo she rides in or the apartment she lives in. At least if they are staying with her parents, she and Devon are our of harms way." Zander's explained. "So she wasn't keen on the idea, huh?" Ric assumed. "Oh she was all sorts of keen on this idea, it was the attitude that came with it, that gave me the clue she was pissed of with me for even suggesting it."_

_"So what did youu want to talk about?" Ric asked changing the subject as he refilled his coffee cup. "I wanted to find out where I stand in all this sht that went down last night. I would assume, I'm at the top of the Commissioner's list to talk to. Since my name is now all over the front page of the morning paper." Zander replied as he pushed the morning paper towards Ric who could see the headlines from where he sat. "If you didn't do anything to cause last night's attack on the ship, then you have nothing to worry about. Right?" Zander raised his eyebrow to his brother. "Tell me you didn't set up last night's explosion?" Zander didn't answer his brother's question. "Oh my God! You did it .. you blew up your own ship to set up Sonny and Jason?!" Ric shocked to hear that Zander would take this feud that far. "I'm not saying anything on the recommendation of my attorney." Zander smirked. "Oh man you are not funny, Zander. This could end very badly you do know that right?" Zander nodded in agreement. "Thus the reason for getting Emily and Devon out of this house. I don't want this to come crashing down on my family."_

_Ric stood in disbelief that Zander would put himself in this position and a very dangerous one at that. "You do realize now they are going to come after you and hard." Ric said as Zander read over the article again. "Little brother, you just put yourself in the line of fire, and Sonny is standing there holding the gun!"_


	11. Chapter 11

_"Zander for once listen to me! This plan of yours is going to back fire on you and you are going to lose everything you have worked so hard for. Your territory, power and not to mention your wife and baby. Zander this is just suicidal. If you think that Sonny coming after you is in any way a good thing, God help you because it's not, Sonny isn't going to stop with just you, you have an organization to think about plus your family, your wife and your child. I'm not asking you to reconsider this plan, Zander ... I'm telling you to drop it before it goes any farther because in the end, you are not guaranteed that you will be the one left standing. And while your signing your death warrant, consider this ... What about Emily and your baby? If this goes wrong and Sonny kills you, what happens to your wife? She'll be left alone with a toddler to care for by herself, Zander. This plan of yours has way too much risk to even be thinking about." Ric finished his speech and left penthouse, leaving Zander to think about what the plan may cost him if he continues._

_Emily came down the back stairs with her bags in hand and dropped them on the floor at the bottom of the stairs. She noticed he was in deep thought about something and went to him. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" she asked as she stood there next to him caressing his back with her hand. "I just got reamed out by my older brother." he said with a blank face. "Well did you deserve it?" she giggled, not knowing why he was given the third degree by Ric. "I don't know if I deserved it or not but it surely gave me something to think about while we're away." he replied as he reached up with his hand and rubbed it against his scruffy chin. "While we're away? I thought just Devon and I were going?" she questioned. "No, I think it best we all go together, I'm going to make arrangements to stay at the safe house till all this blows over. Besides, I'm suppose to take it easy, remember?" he smiled at her and pulled her into his arms. She sighed against him relieved that he was coming with them._

_"Why don't we get Marcus to put the bags in the car, we'll go pick up Devon at the estate and we'll leave town right away." A big smile came to her face when she heard that from him. "Okay." She went and picked up the bags from the floor and took them out to the living room and set them by the door._

_Emily opened the door to find Cord standing guard and asked him to call up Marcus to take the bags down to the car, they'd be leaving in a few minutes to go pick up Devon, as soon as Zander got dressed and ready to go. As Zander walked up the back stairs to the bedroom all that was on his mind was what his brother said to him. After thinking about it a little while, he realized Ric was right. This was too much of a risk for him to take with his wife and child. He had to find another way to bring Sonny down and to hold on to the territory he had inherited from his family. He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He flipped it open and dialed one of his contacts. _

_"Hey, it's Zander. Listen I want you to call off everything we talked about. Why? Just do it!" he flipped close the phone and stuck it back in his pocket. He grabbed a few extra things from his dresser that he needed and headed down the stairs to meet Emily who was waiting._

_"All set?" he asked and she nodded. "Marcus is bringing the car around." she replied as Cord stood with Emily just outside the doorway. _

_"Cord, I need you here all the time, 24/7 .. if not you then someone else. I don't want this place left alone for one second. Got that?" Cord nodded in agreement with his boss as the elevator doors opened and Marcus appeared. "Car is waiting for you, sir." Marcus said as he approached the penthouse. "We'll be at the safe house till all this blows over, I will call you with any more instructions." Zander filled his guards in as the elevator waited for them. Marcus followed and boarded the elevator with his boss and Emily. "We're going to the estate to pick up Devon, then we're going to the safe house .... the mountain cabin." Marcus nodded in acknowledgement as the elevator came to a stop and they all got off on the parking garage floor of the hotel. Zander didn't want anyone to know that he and his family had left town, it was business as usual._

_Zander and Emily climbed into the car and Marcus climbed into the drivers seat. Marcus started the car and drove out onto the street, heading the car towards the Quartermaine estate. It didn't take them but a few minutes to get there and soon they were driving up the long maple lined drive towards the house. Once stopped Emily got out of the car and went inside to get Devon. Reginald met her at the door and she went inside._

_"Hi Reginald. I came to get Devon. Can you go see if he's ready for me?" Reginald said he would and went up the staircase to the nursery, while Emily stood and waited for him in the foyer. The house was quite, she assumed everyone was either at work or not home, till it erupted in the living room. Shouting, yelling and anger could be heard from the living room close by. She knew she didn't want to get into that argument, so she stayed put in the foyer and waited for Reginald to return with her son._

_She looked up at the top of the stairs and saw Reginald carrying Devon down in his arms. She met him half way and took Devon from him. "He was just put down for a nap, and I see he's still sleeping for you." Reginald said as he handed Emily her son. "Thanks Reginald. Tell mom and dad that I'll be gone for a while. I'll get word to them when I'll be back, cause right now I'm not sure." she whispered hoping not to wake Devon who looked so peaceful. "I'll tell them. We'll miss you." Reginald replied with sentiment as he opened the door for her and saw a limo waiting to whisk them away._

_The family heard the front door and hurried out to the foyer to see who came to visit. Reginald closed the door and went about his business, not telling them that Emily had just left. "Reginald?! Who was just here?" Alan said as he watched Reginald head for the staircase. "Emily, she came and picked up Devon. And she left a message for you. She said she was going away for a while, and that she'd get word to you when she'd be returning, she wasn't sure right now." Monica and Alan knew things were getting dangerous if Zander had taken Emily and Devon out of town. Worry and concern for them set in and Monica turned to Alan for comfort._

_"Don't worry, Zander's with her, he'll keep her and Devon safe." Alan said trying to soothe Monica's fears. "That deviant has never kept that poor child safe, in all the years they have known each other!" Edward bellowed. The family returned a unanimous "Shut up, Grandfather!" .. he stomped off in a huff. Alan looked down at Monica in his arms and said .... "Don't listen to him, they'll be alright, I'm sure Zander has a plan."_


	12. Chapter 12

_Zander and his family reached the safe house which was set deep into the forests someplace in New York state. Marcus drove the car up the longest drive Emily had ever seen and then stopped in front the most quaint log cabin with a wrap around front porch. Marcus got out of the car and went to open up the door for Zander and his wife. Emily unbuckled Devon and scooped him up in her arms as Zander and Marcus unloaded the trunk of their bags._

_Emily's eyes widened as she looked over the cabin from the car. "Wait till you see the inside." Zander teased as he and Marcus led the way to the front door. Emily gawked at the landscape that welcomed her and her family. "Zander, it's breathtaking." she remarked as he opened the front door with the key from his pocket. He pushed the old wooden door open and stepped inside. He dropped the bags he was carrying and went to enjoy the reaction from Emily as she stepped inside the log cabin._

_Her eyes widened even further as she walked into the the quaintly decorated cabin, with Devon in her arms. "Welcome to you home for as long as you'd like to stay." Zander said as he took Devon from her so she could go explore the house she so anxiously wanted to see. It was like letting loose a child in the a candy store. She was in awe of everything that decorated the cabin. Zander had Marcus take the bags up stairs to the master bedroom while, he tried to follow Emily from room to room as she explored every inch of the place. She ended the tour of the house in the living room area, as she entered the room, the large stone fireplace drew her attention. "Oh Zander, it's beautiful." she remarked about the fireplace as she went up to it and her fingers glided across the stone._

_She overjoyed with the accommodations Zander provided for her, she took a seat on the overly stuffed sofa and invited him and Devon to join her. Marcus came down the stairs had taken the bags upstairs to the mastersuite, Emily then realized there was an upstairs she hadn't seen yet. She jumped up from her seat with a smile on her face and rushed past Marcus as Zander laughed at her enthusiasm. _

_"Thanks Marcus. I'll be in touch." Zander said as he walked Marcus out to the front porch. He turned and came back into the cabin, Devon still in his arms, he closed the wooden door behind him and then peered up the steps to hear if Emily was still exploring._

_"Oh my God, Zander! This is just wonderful." she said as she came down the stairs towards him. "Well I'm glad you like it." he said as he followed her into the living room once more. "Like it? I love it! How long can we stay here?" she giggled. "As long as you want, sweetheart." he replied and pulled her in for a kiss. All their worries had seemed to disappear the minute they stepped foot in the cabin. No more stress, no more worries about who was coming after them next, all the danger concerns were gone. _

_Devon sat on Zander's lap and Emily noticed a little yawn and his droopy eyelids as he began to drift off to sleep. "I think someone has had too much excitement for one day." she giggled as she brushed her finger against his chubby cheek. Zander picked him up in his arms and turned Devon into his chest, holding him against his shoulder. Devon relaxed against his dad's shoulder as Zander took him up the stairs to the extra bedroom. A crib sat waiting for the sleeping toddler, as Zander laid down Devon gently. He laid his son on his back and gently rubbed his fingers in circles on Devon's tummy. Emily stood in the door way of the room and watched on, brining a smile to her face as she was witness to the most beautiful moment between a father and a child. Zander leaned on the railing and watched as Devon fell to sleep. _

_Emily walked up to Zander and wrapped her arm around his waist. "The tummy rub does it every time." Zander whispered as he continued to rub his fingers across Devon's tummy in a circular motion. "Thank you for bringing us here, Zander. I really needed this." Zander pulled her closer to him and kissed her on top of her head. "I know you did, and so did I. We can stay as long as you want to, sweetheart." he replied as he and Emily left the room quietly and walked down the stairs to the living room once more._

_She led him to the overly stuffed sofa and sat down. He sat down next to her and she snuggled up to him, carefully. She pulled her legs up onto the couch and laid her head in his lap. He gently stroking her hair with one hand, the other resting on her hip. _

_Darkness had soon fallen around the cabin, as they enjoyed each other's company in front of a roaring fire, and two glasses of wine. She had gotten up from the sofa and took the afghan from the rocker in the corner and brought it back to wrap herself in as they watched the crackle of the fire in the stone fireplace. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, a kiss so gentle, so sweet. Her lips parted and invited him in as the kiss became more passionate. It deepened as she left out a moan of pleasure that echoed within him. She straddled his lap, and began to nuzzle his neck, his hands caressing her back, he pulled her to him, her hair falling around his face as their mouths met once more._

_His kisses traveled down her neck as he began to unbutton her blouse. She watched him fumble with the buttons in the dim light of the roaring fire. She reached up with her hands and helped him remove the blouse from her, revealing to him a pink lace bra, her rounded breasts overfilled the lacey material that formed around them. He began leaving his kisses on her neck once more and led a trail down between her perfectly round mounds. It had been too long since he had her so close to him, he wanted to taste every inch of her beautiful body._

_She got up slowly from his lap, leaving him wanting more, and grabbing the pillows from the chair and placing them on the floor in front of the fireplace along with the blankets that she found in an old cedar chest in the corner. She spread out the blankets and threw the pillows on top, then reached for his hand. He took her hand in his and walked towards her. He took her in his arms, their mouths met once more as they went to their knees, he laying her gently on her back. He stood up and slowly removed the shirt he was wearing, revealing to her the white gauze bandages that only reminded her of what they had left behind. _

_She was so beautiful in the soft amber glow of the fire that raged on in the fireplace, he knelt down to be with her on the blankets and she invited him to her, opening her legs to him. He laid his hips between her thighs, she could feel his hardened shaft underneath his trousers. He began to rub against her which aroused her as she caressed him, being careful of his healing wounds. _

_"Are you sure?" she asked as she looked down at the bandages. "Yeah I'll be fine..." his words drifted off as his lips met hers and she started to remove the pants he was wearing. A night of lovemaking was apparent as they continued to explore each other with the tenderness and gentleness of touches and caresses. As the fire raged on in the fireplace, the fire within them, burned passionately, as they once again became one. _


	13. Chapter 13

_As Zander and Emily shared a night of passion, Elizabeth sat by her husband's bedside holding his hand and hoping that he'd be stronger in the morning so the doctors can go in and get the bullet that was lodged close to his spine. She had been sitting with him night after night for the past 3 weeks, hoping that the next day would be the day for the doctors to make him well again. Sonny and Carly both had visited on numerous occasions, both together and separately. Both concerned for her and Jason._

_It was now close to 2am and he had been down for a very long sleep, Monica had given him something for the pain he was feeling and it knocked him out. He had been heavily medicated since had been brought in that fateful night that turned their lives upside down. She held much anger about what had happened and blamed only one person for it, and that was Zander. _

_Jason began to wake up from his long sleep, and he woke her up by caressing the back of her head as it laid on the edge of the bed. She looked up at him and he cracked a smile, even that took some strength for him to do. She quickly went out to the ICU nurse's desk to let them know he was awake. He reached for her as she walked back in the door, followed closely behind by the night duty nurse, Judy. She checked his vitals and wrote down the numbers that she saw on the machines._

_"He's stronger, right .. he's getting better." Elizabeth was hopeful that tonight was the night that Jason would be strong enough to sustain the surgery needed to remove the bullet that came from Zander's gun. _

_"I don't know yet, let me check with the doctor on call." Judy replied as she headed for the door._

_"No, I want Drs. Quartermaine to look at him, no on call doctor." Elizabeth wanted only the best for her husband, and Monica and Alan were the best GH had on staff._

_"Okay, Mrs. Morgan, I'll give them a call." Judy replied before she left the room and went back to her desk._

_Jason squeezed her hand and she turned and looked down at him. His eyes filled with worry and fear about his condition and what was going on around him. _

_"What's .. going on?" he asked as she sat back down on the swivel chair next to his bed. "The duty nurse is calling your parents to see if they can come in and check to see if you're strong enough to do the surgery you need." Elizabeth explained as she noticed his lips were dry and he had become very pale._

_She reached behind her and took the styrofoam cup filled with ice chips. She took one from the cup and rubbed it across his lips to moisten them. He opened his mouth and the melting chip fell into the opening._

_"You weren't suppose to take it." she giggled and he cracked a smile. "Sorry, I'm thirsty." he managed to say as she reached in the cup for another ice chip. "These are all Monica gave me to give to you, sorry." she apologized to him because she couldn't give him water in a cup to drink. As she rubbed the second ice chip on his lips, he once again opened his mouth and it fell in against his tongue. As the chip melted he swallowed what little water there was left after most of it seeped into his dry mouth._

_She didn't know how much time had passed and she was still waiting for Jason's parents to arrive. She began to pace the room back and forth as Jason watched her from his lying down position. He had been in a hospital bed for the last 3 weeks, and he too was getting stir crazy in the enclosed room, machines hooked to him, medication every 2 hours or so, all he wanted to do was to hold his wife in his arms._

_Elizabeth heard familiar voices out in the hallway and went to see if Monica and Alan had shown up. As she left the room, she saw Drs. Quartermaine talking with the night duty nurse about Jason's vitals. Elizabeth approached them hoping that Jason could finally have the surgery they had been waiting to do._

_"So .. is he strong enough to do the surgery?" Elizabeth asked_

_"Yeah his vitals look good. We're calling in the surgeon to remove the bullet and we'll prep Jason for surgery." Monica said in a soothing voice, trying to keep Elizabeth from worrying._

_As Elizabeth stood outside the room peering through the large plexiglass window, she watched as the duty nurses prep'd her husband for surgery. She folded her hands and said a little prayer as they brought Jason out of his room on the gurney. She stopped them as they rolled him passed her._

_"I'll be right here waiting for you, when you come back." she said as she took his hand in hers and held it tight. He cracked a smile and she kissed him gently. "I love you ...." were her last words to him as the orderlies rolled him down the hall towards the surgical wing._

_"He's going to be fine, Elizabeth. Dr. Thomas is the best we have on staff here at the hospital. And I'll be scrubbing as well, so I'll be with him every step of the way." Elizabeth softly smiled and felt somewhat better knowing that Monica would be with Jason during his surgery. "We'll keep you updated as much as we can." Monica added before she walked down the same hallway and through the same double doors towards the surgical wing._

_Alan took Elizabeth to the waiting area outside the ICU and sat with her, duration of Jason's surgery._

__

_While Zander and Emily were safely away at the mountain cabin, Ric was on the case of Detective Steele. He too was curious as to why Steele was focusing the investigation on his brother. He had made a few phone calls to contacts he had in Florida to get more information about the murder case Steele was digging into._

_"Look, I know you don't have much information about this case, but I need to find out more information then what I do have." Ric ordered as he spoke with someone in the DA's office in Miami on the phone. "Yes I know this is a 15 year old case, but ..." he just seemed to be getting doors slammed in his face at every corner. No one was talking or they didn't have the information he needed. This case was closed up tighter then a drum, which made him wonder why, what was so top secret about this 15 year old murder case. It just didn't make any sense to him._

_As he sat frustrated in his office, there was a knock on his office door. "Come in!" he barked from behind his desk. Detective Steele peered in as he opened the door to Ric's office. "Bad night counselor?" Steele said as he pushed the door open and saw Ric sitting behind his desk. "Yes it has been and I should be home, but I'm not, I'm here working on a case at 2am in the morning. What can I do for you Detective Steele?" Ric was not at all happy with Steele and this was just the wrong night for him to come calling and fishing for information._

_"I have it on good authority that your brother and his wife skipped town, is this true?" Steele asked as he stepped towards Ric's desk. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Steele." Ric replied as he closed the folder he was reading closed, weary of Steele. "It seems kind of funny that this investigation finally can bring your brother some closure on his father's death and he's conveniently out of town with his wife, don'tch ya think?" Steele replied as Ric got up from behind and his desk and walked towards him. Ric pushed Steele down in the leather chair behind him and said ...."Well since you are just source of information, why don't you sit down and tell me all you know." _


	14. Chapter 14

_Steele sat down hard in the leather chair and Ric sat on the edge of his desk glaring at the person who was about to tell him all about a murder that so obviously included his younger brother. "I want to know what you know Steele. And I want to know right now." Ric said calmly as his insides were ready to knock the smug look off Steele's face._

_"Alright. I'll tell you all I know." Steel replied as he reached into his jacket pocket for the small tablet he had been writing things down on while investigating the case._

_"I'm listening." Ric said as he got up and went to sit down in his leather chair behind the desk._

_"15 years ago, your brother's father was the head of an organization that powered over just about the entire eastern seaboard, including some territory here in Port Charles. His right hand man, though a young, was aggressive and wanted more then what was offered to him, by his boss. In the end, the boss was dead and the young man was never found, obviously skipping town, and the country to evade prosecution. It never was truly proven that the young right hand man did the deed, it was suspected enough to have charges waiting for him once he was found." Steele explained._

_Ric sat and listened but it still didn't tell him how Zander was involved in this, he was only 8 when this murder happened, how much would an 8 year old know about his father's business. "And how does Zander tie into all this...?" Ric asked._

_"I'm getting to that ...." Steele said and then continued. "From what we know, Zander was witness to this and when investigators talked with him, he couldn't tell them anything. Shock, I guess." _

_"So now you expect him to remember? After 15 years? If he couldn't tell them anything back then, I'm sure he's blocked out the memory of it by now. What happened to the young suspect? Ever find him?" Ric inquired hoping Steele could give him something to go on._

_"Actually I think I'm closer then any of the others who have taken on this case." Steele piqued Ric's curiousity._

_"And .. where is he? There's no statute of limitations on murder, he can still hang for this." Ric said as Steele flipped through his black notebook._

_"According to what I have, the young suspect apparently ran to his family in Puerto Rico and had been underground for some time there. He had gotten in the business there and built his own organization in the islands before bringing it to shore and building it up in the states. As far as I can tell, he's as powerful now as he's ever been, owning most of the important inlets and outlets of the eastern seaboard." Steele described someone sounding very familiar to Ric, but he couldn't be sure._

_"So have you found him?! You found the man who murdered Zander's father?" Ric asked again as Steele looked up from his notebook._

_"You're not going to like it. Cause he's been right underneath your nose for the last 10 years." Steele grinned._

_"Steele, I hate riddles, just tell me who I can go arrest for this 15 year old murder." Ric getting impatient now with Steele._

_Steele grinned smuggly .. "The man's name is Sonny Corinthos."_


	15. Chapter 15

_Ric picked up the phone and dialed it quickly. "I need an arrest warrant drawn up, now! I don't care what time it is, I need one immediately! Name? Sonny Corinthos Charge? Murder 1 .. Yes you heard me right. And I want it on my desk ASAP!" Ric slammed down the phone and turned his attention back on Steele._

_"Now, if you excuse me I have an arrest warrant to serve." Ric added as he got up from his desk and directed Steele towards the door._

_"Now wait a minute, Mr. Lansing .. this is my case .. I want in on this bust!" Steele reminded Ric if it weren't for him Sonny wouldn't be arrested or charged with the murder of Zander's father._

_Ric thought a brief moment, and guessed he'd give Steele the collar, he did do all of the work to get Sonny charged with Murder 1. "Come on, let's go ..." Ric replied as he grabbed onto Steele's jacket and led him out of the office._

_The warrant was waiting for Ric when he arrived in the squad room with Steele by his side. He called over a few other officers and explained what he had planned._

_Three officers, Ric and Steele walked out of the squad room with the arrest warrant in hand and went to see Mr. Corinthos._

__

_Darkness still lingering, Zander's cell phone rang. He reached over to the night stand and flipped it open to answer it. "Hello .." he answered still half asleep._

_"Zander, little brother, if you want to see a murderer come to justice, I'd suggest you meet me at the PCPD in about an hour." Ric being cryptic didn't leave Zander much choice._

_"I'll be right there." Zander replied and flipped close the phone. He slipped from underneath the sheets and quickly got dressed. As he went down stairs he called Marcus to come pick him up, he'd let Emily sleep but he left a note on the table explaining his absence. _

_It didn't take long before Marcus picked Zander up at the mountain cabin, and they sped away heading back towards town to the PCPD._

_They arrived in record time and Zander walked into the squad room wondering what his brother had been trying to explain to him on the phone. Marcus stood by Zander while he waited and saw that his boss was becoming more and more anxious._

__

_The officers and Ric along with Steele arrived at Sonny's penthouse, the warrant in his jacket pocket. Ric pounded on the door and waited for someone to answer. It was a few minutes before he heard movement towards the door. The door opened, Sonny in his robe and shocked to find Ric standing in the hallway with 3 officers._

_"Ric do you know what time it is?" Sonny said as he stepped away from the door and they stepped into the apartment._

_"I know what time it is Sonny, and I came on official business." Ric replied and handed Sonny the arrest warrant._

_"What is this?!" Sonny asked as he threw the warrant back in Ric's face._

_"That is an arrest warrant. You're under arrest for the murder of Frank Smith. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the state of NY ...." Ric recited as the officers slapped cuffs on Sonny in the middle of his living room._

_Carly had heard the commotion and raced down the stairs to see her husband in a pair of handcuffs. "Hey what's going on here?" she shouted as she went to her husband._

_"You can meet us at the police station, Carly .. and bring some clothes for your husband." Ric told her as they walked Sonny out of the penthouse and then onto the elevator._

_Carly raced back upstairs and grabbed what she could and followed the police cars downtown._

__

_Zander sat waiting for Ric to come back, when he looked up to see Ric and Steele walk into the squad room. Three officers followed and they had Sonny with them in handcuffs._

_"Hey what's going on here, Ric?" Ric pulled Zander into an interrogation room for a little privacy to tell him that Sonny was the one who murdered his father._

_"What?! Sonny killed my father?!" was heard from inside the interrogation room and soon Zander stormed out from the room, his eyes piercing through Sonny like knives._

_"You bastard!" Zander shouted as he pulled back his arm and laid his fist against Sonny's jaw before anyone could stop him. _

_"Zander! That's enough." Ric said as he grabbed his brother before he did more damage to the suspect. "Take him into the interrogation room, please." Ric instructed the officers in what to do with Sonny._

_"Would you calm down!" Ric said to Zander as he saw Zander's fists were clenched and the anger just boiled inside of him._

_"Calm? You want me to be calm? That SOB killed my father and you want me to be calm?! After 15 years, I found out the man who took my father from me was under my nose the entire time!" Zander barked back._

_Ric understood Zander's rage and didn't blame him one bit for feeling what he felt. "Just let me do my job, I want these charges to stick!" Ric said before he headed into the interrogation room to question his murder suspect._


	16. Chapter 16

_Zander watched from the squad room as his brother questioned Sonny about his father's murder. He began to pace the floor and wringing his hands together in anticipation of Ric emerging and telling him the case was finally closed that Sonny was going away for a very long time. At this moment the business didn't matter, this was personal and Sonny was going to pay dearly for what he had done._

_Tempers flared and loud voices could be heard from the interrogation room, as Zander couldn't tear himself away from observing what was going on inside. Suddenly the door to the room flew open and Ric emerged, his rage could been seen to those in the squad room._

_Zander approached him with anticipation to know what happened in there. "So, Ric, tell me he's not getting out of this, tell me you can make this stick!" Ric turned to his brother wishing he could tell him what he wanted to hear, knowing that they would need Zander's testimony to put Sonny away for killing Frank._

_"Yeah we can .. but ... I'm going to need your help." Zander looked at his brother confused._

_"My help, what hell do you need me for?" Zander questioned._

_"I'll tell ya about in my office." Ric led the way to his office and Zander followed close behind wanting to know what he would have to offer this case against Sonny._

__

_Meanwhile at the hospital, Jason still unconscious was wheeled out from the surgical wing and into a recovery area till he woke up._

_Monica emerged from the double doors and saw Elizabeth and Alan still sitting and waiting in the chairs outside the ICU. She approached cautiously, trying to think of the words she would tell Elizabeth. Jason's recovery would not be easy, nor will it be short term._

_Elizabeth looked up when she heard someone approach. "Is it over?" she asked as Monica sat down with her. "Yeah it's over. Jason's in the recovery area, he's still unconscious."_

_"Is he going to be okay, did you get the bullet out?" _

_Monica paused a moment with a worry in her eyes as Alan wrapped his arm around Elizabeth to steady her for the news Monica obviously had to tell her._

_"We got the bullet out, it was difficult but we got it, all of it. Now it's up to Jason. It's not going to be an easy road, but Jason's strong, he can handle what lies of ahead of him."_

_Elizabeth wiped a tear from her eye as she listened to what Monica had to tell her. "When can I see him?" she asked._

_"Give him some time to rest, a few hours should be okay. Why don't you go home and some rest, you've been here all night, Elizabeth." Monica suggested as she looked towards Alan to offer something._

_"Why don't I drive you home, Elizabeth?" Alan offered and she looked up at him._

_"No thank you Dr. Quartermaine, I'll get Johnny to take me home. I guess there isn't much I can do here till Jason wakes up. But you will call me as soon as he does, right?"_

_Monica stood up from her seat and removed her surgical mask from around her neck. "Sure, we will." Elizabeth felt the urge to give Monica a hug for all she did for Jason, she felt close to Jason's parents, even if Jason didn't. Monica surprised by the hug from her, but returned the embrace just the same._

_Alan and Monica watched Elizabeth walk somberly down the hallway towards the elevators. Alan reached for Monica and pulled her into him. He looked down at her ..."Come on .. I want to go see our son."_

__

_Ric offered Zander a seat as they walked into the office and Ric closed the door behind them. Zander watched as his brother took a seat in the chair behind his desk._

_"So are you going tell me what this all about? Why do you need my help?" Zander asked still baffled by what was going on._

_"I need you to remember, Zander. I need you to remember all that happened that night, the night your father was killed."_


	17. Chapter 17

_"Ric, I'm sorry, but I don't remember anything about that night." Zander replied without wanting to go back to that night._

_"Look, I know you a small boy, and I know that the night has probably haunted you years afterward but Zander, I need you to remember. You are the only one who can put Sonny at the crime scene."_

_"I can't go back there, Ric. It took me a very long time to rid myself of those nightmares, and you're right, I had been haunted by the memories, and I finally got rid of them, Ric. I don't want them back!"_

_Ric sighed heavily. "I'm sorry Zander, I need you to go back there. You don't get this do you? If we don't have you as a witness, we don't have Sonny on murder charges. It's that simple."_

_Zander dreaded even the thought of remembering that night, but he knew he had to if he wanted to send his father's killer to prison._

_"Alright! I have to. What now?" Zander replied._

_"Now? Well, now we should get a statement of what you remember from that night."_

_"Which isn't much. I told you Ric, I don't remember all of it. I was 8 .... how much do you expect me to remember after 15 years?"_

_"I expect you to remember enough to send Sonny Corinthos to prison, Zander. If we need to, we can make an appointment with someone who can help you remember."_

_"What, like shrink? You're kidding, right?"_

_"No I'm not kidding. A professional can help you remember what you selectively forget."_

_"So who's on tonight to take my statement. Let's get this over with." Zander sighed, he certainly wasn't ready for this but wanted to get this ordeal over with as soon as he could._

_Ric picked up the phone and dialed down to the clerks office for a transcriber, he had no luck at this hour. He pulled out a tape recorder from his desk and set it on top near Zander and turned it on._

_"Whenever you're ready." Ric said as he leaned back in his chair and waited for Zander to begin telling his story._

_Zander breathed in deeply, he concerned with reliving the past, but he had to if he wanted a conviction of his father's killer. "It was late, after midnight I think. I had gotten up and had gone downstairs to the kitchen. Mom always kept a special jug of milk in the refrigerator for me, she said it to help me go back to sleep, she called it the magic milk. Anyway, I went down to the kitchen and I passed by the study and I noticed a light was on, nothing unusual in my house, dad always worked late. It was the topic of my parent's fights most of the time. I didn't hear anything, so I walked into the kitchen for the milk and then returned to my room. On my way back from the kitchen I heard voices. There were at least 2 voices arguing, so I pushed open the door just a little to see what was going on. I don't think any of the men saw me peeking in because the arguing continued. I don't know what they were talking about, but it was loud and my father was upset with them. It all happened so fast ...."_

_Zander stopped. Ric sat up in his chair and reached for the tape recorder to turn it off. Zander's hand came up and stopped him. Ric backed off the recorder and Zander continued._

_"I remember hearing the shot and my father falling back in the chair, the men grabbed what they could from the room, they knew he kept lots of money in drawers of his desk. When they were done stuffing their pockets they came towards the door, and I hid. I didn't make a sound as I hid in the shadows and I watched them leave the study and walk out the front door of the house." _

_"Who was the person you saw shoot your father, Zander? Who killed Frank Smith?"_

_Zander sat in the chair and became agitated. He tried so hard to forget that night, his mind and body not wanting to remember, he tried to shake off the feelings that had all rushed back and overwhelmed him. The fear, the sadness, the sense of loss, he sat in the chair and began to feel the sweat beads form on his forehead and he became uncomfortable in the chair._

_Ric asked him again .. "Zander, who was the man you saw shoot your father? Who killed Frank Smith?"_

_The answer Ric was asking was something that Zander never remembered, in his nightmares, he never saw the faces of the two men who were in the office that night with his father. He could of met the person on the street and never knew it. Images of that night flashed in Zander's head as he sat in his brother's office, but nothing that made sense to him enough to piece that night all together. The faces were blurry, he couldn't get the pictures to focus enough to see who they were._

_"I'm sorry, Ric. I don't know. I can't remember." Ric sighed and turned off the tape recorder._

_"It's okay, Zander. We'll try again another time."_

_Ric got up from his desk and thanked Zander for trying. He had Sonny on other charges to keep him at least 36 hours, he'd give Zander a little time, if he pushed him too much, he may not be able to remember at all. _

_Zander stared down Sonny as he walked back into the squad room, Sonny cuffed to a desk chair. Ric encouraged Zander to keep walking passed, that he didn't want any more problems with the case. Ric walked Zander out and then came back in to finish up the paperwork on Sonny's arrest._

_Zander walked down to the limo, Marcus was waiting for him. "Let's go, Emily I'm sure is waiting for me back at the cabin." he said to Marcus as he opened the back door for his boss. "Yes, sir." Marcus replied and then shut the door._

_Zander arrived at the cabin and he noticed a flicker of light in the living room. Marcus stopped the car and got out. He walked to the back of the car and left Zander out of the back seat. "Thanks Marcus, you can go back to town now." Zander instructed before walking up to the front door of the cabin._

_He peered in the window and saw Emily lounged on the couch in front of the fireplace. He unlocked the door and entered the cabin quietly trying not to wake her up. As he approached her, she awoke and saw him standing over her. "Zander, oh my God, I was so worried about you!" she said as she jumped up from the couch and latched onto him. "I'm sorry I had to rush off like that. I think there is something we need to talk about."_


	18. Chapter 18

_Zander sat down with Emily and took a deep breath before telling her about Sonny's arrest for killing his father. Zander hadn't talked about his father's death to anyone, not even to Emily. He had made excuses for the nightmares that followed over the past 15 years to anyone who would ask about them. She saw the seriousness in his face and an overwhelming concern came over her. _

_"Zander, what is it?"_

_"There is something that I haven't told you, something that has haunted me and I had rid myself of the nightmares, or so I thought. Tonight that nightmare came back and I need to tell you about it before you hear it from someone else."_

_Emily was getting scared just listening to Zander talk about whatever it was he had to tell her. Scared for him, scared for herself because she didn't know if she could do anything to help him through it._

_"Zander whatever it is, you can tell me." she replied as he looked into her eyes and knew what she said was true. He could tell her anything and she'd always be there to support him, no matter what._

_"My father ..... my father was killed 15 years ago and ... I was there, I saw it happen." Tears began to well in his eyes as he told her what happened and she pulled him into an embrace wanting to take the pain away. "No, Em I need to tell you this." he pulled from her and sniffled back the tears._

_"Detective Steele ... he was investigating my father's case and he found the man .. who killed him." Zander continued. _

_"Well that's good right, I mean now they can arrest him and he can pay for it." she got excited for a minute before Zander brought on more of the truth._

_"I'm the only one who can identify the man who shot and killed my father, Emily and I can't be sure on who that man was." he replied in disgust with himself for not remembering all of what he saw._

_"You were eight years old, Zander .. you can't expect to remember 15 years later .. especially something this traumatic. Give yourself some time, it will come back to you."_

_"Em, I don't have that kind of time." he sighed heavily. "Detective Steele and Ric served an arrest warrant tonight on who they think killed my father. Without me, they have no case against him. I need to remember, Emily."_

_"Zander, who did they arrest?" Emily questioned._

_"Someone we both know ... Sonny Corinthos." he blurted out and noticed her jaw drop reaction._

__

_Ric kept Sonny in the interrogation room till his attorney arrived and while he finished up the report on the case. As Ric sat behind the desk and signed the last of the paperwork, he looked up and noticed someone standing in front of him. _

_Ric stood up from his seat and extended his hand to the woman who stood before him. "DA Lansing, and you are?" he asked as she took his hand and shook it. "I'm here to see my client, Mr. Corinthos. I'm Victoria London." Ric smiled and led her to the interrogation room to see Sonny._

_"Mr. Corinthos, your attorney is here to see you." Ric announced as he opened the door to the room and saw Sonny sitting at the table shackled to the floor. His attorney noticed the shackles when she entered the room and asked for them to be removed. "Are those necessary?" she asked about the shackles as she stepped into the room and set down her briefcase on the table._

_Ric rolled his eyes at her question and then called in an officer to remove the cuffs from Sonny's ankles. "Spencer! Unshackle Mr. Corinthos." Luke looked at Ric like he had lost his mind. "Just do it." Ric replied before he stepped back into the squad room._

_Sonny and his attorney talked a while, while Ric looked on. She was very attractive, deep auburn curls, shoulder length hair, piercing blue eyes, the prettiest he's ever seen. Ric was smitten. As he stood there observing, he didn't hear Alexis approach him from behind._

_"Do I need to be worried about you Ric? Spying isn't becoming of a District Attorney." she joked as she walked up on him._

_She startled him back to reality and turned around with a snap. "I wasn't spying, Alexis. I was just observing. There's a difference." Alexis chuckled at his way of thinking. _

_"Who is that by the way?" Alexis asked when she noticed Sonny was talking to someone. "She's Sonny's attorney." Alexis intrigued by that for some reason as she peered thru the window and watched as Sonny spoke with his attorney in private._

_"Now who's spying." Ric smirked and walked away towards the desk he had been working at earlier. Just as Alexis turned and walked towards him, the interrogation room door opened and the auburn haired attorney emerged._

_Alexis and the attorney locked eyes on one another and then excited squeals could be heard throughout the squad room._

_"Alexis?" the attorney asked as she stepped forward slowly. "Vicki?" Alexis replied as she took a few steps towards the her._

_"Oh my God ... it is you!" they squealed like giddy school girls as they embraced each other. "How long as it been? 20 years?" Victoria asked as Ric came upon them. Alexis nodded to Victoria's question when she saw Ric standing there._

_"So I take it the two of you know each other?" The two attorney's smiled at each other and then at Ric. "Vicki and I went to law school together, we were sorority sisters for a while." Alexis replied with joy to have her closest friend in town with her. "We definitely need to catch up." Victoria said. "Come on, we can go to my office and talk." Alexis offered and led the way to her office, Victoria following close behind._


	19. Chapter 19

_Alexis opened the door to her office and invited Vicki in. "Have a seat." Alexis said as she showed Vicki one of the leather chairs in front of her mahogany desk. "Mmm.. Assitant DA. Very nice Alexis." Alexis looked around her office and didn't think it was the greatest job she had had over the past 20 years, but it was something that kept her out of trouble with those questionable clients._

_"So what about this case against my client, Alexis? You're seriously not going to prosecute on the evidence you have, are you?" Victoria asked as she reached into her case and pulled out a folder._

_"I thought our intentions were quite clear in our reports, Vicki. This is open and shut." Alexis replied as she put on her black rimmed glasses and opened up the case folder in front of her._

_"Without a witness, Alexis, the state doesn't have anything to hold Mr. Corinthos on or any charges to bring against him." _

_"Oh but we do have enough to hold Mr. Corinthos for questioning in this murder, without the witness." Alexis replied as she peered over her glasses. "And according to my watch, we have him for another 32 hours." Alexis added hoping that within those hours, Zander would be able to remember if it was Sonny who shot his father or not._

_"I'm going to let this slide for now, Alexis. I have yet to read over thoroughly the case, but Mr. Corinthos does have the right to counsel during questioning." _

_The phone on Alexis's desk rang a piercing sound and she quickly picked it up. "Davis." she answered. "I'll be right down." Alexis replied and jumped up from her seat._

_"Let's go ... your client wants to talk." she said to Vicki as they both rushed out the door and down to the squad room._

__

_Zander laid with Emily in his arms till they both had fallen asleep on the overstuffed couch in front of the fireplace. She began to stir and woke up in Zander's arms. She quietly got up from the sofa and went up stairs to check on Devon, who had slept through night, surprisingly. Zander felt her get up off the sofa and he turned into the cushions waiting for her to return._

_Emily walked down the stairs and went back to the couch to check on her husband. She pulled the afghan up over him leaving him sleep a little while longer. She knew he was exhausted from the long night before, and he could use the extra rest without interruption._

_He heard her walking away after covering him up and called out to her. "Em...where you going?" he asked as he turned over._

_"I was going to let you get some sleep, you were so tired last night." she said as she came back towards him._

_"No I'm good...." he said groggily as he wasn't quite awake yet. She giggled cause she noticed she was right and he did need his rest._

_"Come here, lay with me." he asked as he reached for her hand to join him on the sofa._

_She looked up towards the upstairs thinking Devon would be okay for a little while longer, he was still asleep too. "Okay just for a few minutes. Devon will be up soon." she said as she took his hand and laid back down on the couch with him._

_He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. He felt so content with her by his side, her body fit so right with his, just like the right piece that completed the puzzle. She didn't want to fall asleep with him, but she did. The sun filtered in through the windows and made funny shapes on the hardwood floor in the living area where they slept._

_They were awaken by the rapping on the cabin door, and Zander awoke with a start. He wondered who would be knocking, no one knew they were there but one other person. He and Emily got up off the sofa and went to the front door to answer it._

_Zander peered out the window as he pulled back the curtain and noticed someone he knew standing on the front porch. He went to open the door as Emily scurried to the kitchen to make some coffee._

_"Alexis ... what are you doing here? How did you know ..?" he greeted her and invited her inside the cabin. "Beautiful place, Zander." she said as she entered the cabin and walked around the first floor. "Thanks, but you didn't answer my question, Alexis. What are you doing here?"_

_Alexis turned towards him ... "I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by." she managed a smile for him. He cracked a smile in return. "Seriously, Alexis. It must be something important for you to drive up here to talk with me, what's going on?" he asked as he turned away from her and walked into the living room. She followed him and took a seat that he offered her._

_Alexis looked up at him, as he stood next to her, she replied ... "What's going on is that we have 24 hours to come up with something to charge Sonny with or he's going home."_


	20. Chapter 20

_"Alexis, what do you want me to do? I can't just force the memories to come into my head, ya know. It's going to take me longer then 24 hours to know for sure it was Sonny."_

_"I know, Zander. I'm sorry for pressuring you like this. But it's important that we have all our angles covered, because right now, Sonny's attorney is not all too happy that we have him locked up on suspicion of murder."_

_Emily emerged from the kitchen with a tray of coffee mugs and a decanter of fresh coffee. "I thought you guys might need some of this." she said as she sat down the tray on the coffee table. "Hi Alexis, how are you?" Emily greet their guest as Alexis smiled and pulled her into a hug. "I'll be better when I know I have a case against Sonny I can win." she glanced at Zander who was pouring some coffee into one of the mugs._

_"Yeah Zander told me all about it. I guess it's riding on him right now, isn't it?" Emily asked as she sat down on the couch._

_"Unfortunately, yes it is. What about talking with a professional?" Alexis suggested and Zander shot a glare towards her._

_"No shrinks, Alexis. I'll remember on my own, thank you." Zander objected._

_"Okay, no shrinks. I have to be getting back to town, now, but thanks for the coffee and conversation." Alexis said as she turned and walked towards the door. "Zander if you remember anything, even if it's the smallest detail, you call me. Okay?" she added as she turned around towards him._

_"I will Alexis, don't worry, you'll be the first person I'll call." Zander replied as Emily went to see their guest to her car._

_Alexis and Emily walked down to Alexis's car that was parked out in front of the cabin. "I don't know what to say Alexis, I don't know how to help him." Alexis eyes were filled with concern for she and Zander. "I know but pushing the issue isn't going to help him remember, he's going to remember when he's ready to. And all you can do is be there for him when he does. Because I have a feeling when he does remember, he's going to need you more then ever." Alexis pulled Emily into a hug and gave her a quick peck on the cheek goodbye. "Thanks for coming all the way up here, I know it's a ride from town." Emily appreciative of Alexis going out of her way to make sure they were alright. Alexis smiled and then got into her car._

_Emily turned back towards the cabin as Alexis turned the car around and headed back out the long dirt driveway. Emily made her way back into the house and closed the old wooden door of the cabin. When she stepped into the cabin she heard Devon's cries from upstairs. Zander so deep in thought, he didn't flinch at the sound of his son crying for them._

_Emily rushed up the stairs to comfort Devon and soon the crying had stopped. Emily emerged from upstairs with Devon in her arms as she came down the stairs with him in her arms. Devon's eyes were puffy and red from crying as his face lit up when he saw Zander sitting on the couch. Devon reached for his dad as Emily walked into the living room._

_"Would you watch him for a couple minutes till I get his breakfast ready?" Emily asked of Zander as she sat Devon down on the couch. "Yeah sure, go ahead, we'll be fine. Won't we?" Zander said as he picked his son up in his arms and fell back with him on the couch. Devon giggled. Zander laid down on the couch with Devon sitting on top of him. Devon watched as Emily disappeared into the kitchen and Zander bounced him up and down on him. Emily could hear Devon's giggles as she put together his breakfast._

_All seemed right with Zander and the family he loved so much, but the past was still lurking and just waiting for him to remember what he tried so hard to forget._

__

_Jason was getting stronger and stronger every day, and every day it was getting harder and harder to keep him in the bed. He didn't want to stay much longer in the hospital, he had had enough of the dismal place. _

_"Okay, so when am I getting out of here?" he asked the duty nurse who was on that particular morning._

_"I don't know Mr. Morgan, I'll have to ask the attending physician on your case." she replied as she checked his vital signs for the third time that morning._

_"Okay, you go do that. I want to get out of here. I have a business to run and I can't run it from this hospital bed." he remarked as the duty nurse turned and walked out the door._

_"Well, you're feeling better I see." Elizabeth said as she stood in the doorway._

_"I do feel better and I want to go home, I can't take much more of this place." he replied and reached for her hand._

_Elizabeth knew she had to tell Jason about Sonny being arrested, it was all over the front page of the morning paper, he was bound to see it or hear someone talk about it. She went and sat down on the swivel stool next to his bed and he could see in her eyes something was on her mind._

_"What's wrong, Elizabeth?" he asked._

_"Something's happened, Jason. And I think I should tell you before you hear it from someone else." she replied._

_He could see that this was difficult for her to do, so he prepared himself to hear the worst. "What is it?" he asked again._

_"It's Sonny, Jason .... he's been arrested on suspicion of murder."_


	21. Chapter 21

_A few days had passed since Alexis had visited the cabin, and Zander was no closer to remembering then he was 3 days prior. He was getting frustrated with himself because he couldn't remember, all he wanted to do was to punish the man who shot and killed his father. Emily sat with him every night trying to keep his mind off of his past the best she could, but it was getting more and more difficult as time passed. The pressure on Zander to remember began to tighten on him, the longer he couldn't remember, the worse it was for the case against Sonny. Emily could see how exhausted Zander had become over the past few days, he wasn't getting his rest at night and Devon kept him going during the day._

Zander had locked up the downstairs tight and turned out the lights, as Emily climbed the stairs slowly, keeping the pace slow till Zander could catch up to her. She led the way to the master bedroom as Zander followed close behind her. His hands latched on her waist and guided her into the bedroom, closing the door behind him by kicking it closed with his foot. She could tell by his demeanor that he was in no way tired to sleep, he had other things on his mind.

Once inside the bedroom, Zander scooped Emily up in his arms and carried her to the bed. He needed to just relax and he knew a night of lovemaking with is wife was just what the doctor ordered. As they lye in each other's arms afterwards, Zander had finally drifted off to sleep. Emily lay watching over him and slowly she too fell asleep.

Flashes of that fateful night sparked in his mind, and Emily felt Zander become restless, tossing and turning against her. She was afraid to wake him, not knowing what he might be dreaming, she had read that waking up a someone in midst of a nightmare could be harmful to those who were dreaming and the person who was doing the waking, so she left him continue for a little while longer. 

The memories of that night filtered into Zander's mind so easily, it replaying back to him the events that happened frame by frame. Zander stood watching in the distance of the action, he was actually watching himself as a little boy walk down the stairs to go to the kitchen. As he turned the corner, he seeing the light from underneath the door of his father's office, curiosity in him led him to the light to listen to what was being talked inside the room, all he heard was silence as he placed his ear to the door. He turned away from the study and patted to the kitchen for some milk. He reached up for the jug of special milk his mom always had for him. After taking his drink, he placed the jug back in the refrigerator and walked back towards the staircase. Shouting could be heard now from the study, as he leaned up against the door to get a better listen.

_"I can't believe you'd betray me like this Michael! I trusted you with my family, with my life! We've been partners for years and you go and do this to me!" dad shouted at his right hand man, Michael. _

"Mr. Smith, it just happened! I didn't know what I was doing, I couldn't control myself, sir!" Michael shouted back.

"You couldn't control yourself? How could you not control yourself, Michael? You disrespected me in the worst possible way someone could! You know what I do to people who betray me, Michael!" dad yelling at Michael, but listening closely enough to hear the gun snap into firing position.

"Tell me something Michael, did my wife beg for it?!"

The room became silent again, but I couldn't tear myself away from the door, and I just listened.

"What am I suppose to tell my child when he grows up, Michael?! What am I suppose to tell Alexander?! Tell me!" dad started yelling again at Michael.

"I don't know Frank, he's your son!" Michael replied.

"That's right he is my son! My son, Michael .. not yours!  
Mine! I raised him, I provided for him, I protected him from people like you, Michael! I love that child like he was my own! He might of come from a violent act, but he's know that he is loved by his mother and me!"

Things turned from bad to worse as another gun was pulled and cocked.

"You filthy son of a bitch! How could you let an innocent child pay for your crime, Michael?!"

"Alexander isn't going to pay for my crime, Frank .. you are!"__

Shots rang out and it startled Zander awake from his dreams.

Emily sitting by his side as he sat up in bed, covered in sweat, his breathing erratic.

"Zander, are you alright?" Emily asked as she noticed he had fear and anger in his eyes. "Did you remember something?" she continued as he wiped his brow with the back of his hand.

He looked at her confused, and distant. His eyes glazed over, he wasn't in the room with her, he may have been physically but psychologically he was someplace else.

"Zander, focus on my voice. Did you remember anything?" she said as she made eye contact with him, she knew she wasn't reaching him.

He began to shake off the nightmare and she saw in his eyes, he was slowly coming back from where ever it was that his dream took him.

"Oh my God, Em!" he latched on to her and squeezed her tight, she could feel the fear inside him, it sent shivers up her spine. Something he remember seriously scared him to death.


	22. Chapter 22

_Zander pulled back from Emily's arms and shook off the feelings that were left inside of him from the dreams._

"Zander, did you remember something?" she asked as sat on the edge of the bed. 

"Yeah I did." he replied as he glanced back over his shoulder.

She crawled to his side and sat with him. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked as she caressed his back with her hand.

"I just can't believe it." He was shocked to see in his dream what he had once blocked out of his mind for so long.

"Why don't you tell me about it, we can work through it together." she said as he got up from the bed.

What he dreamt couldn't be true, he couldn't be who the dream said he was. It's not possible. He tried to put that part of the dream aside and focused more on the the actual shooting and who the person was who pulled the trigger.

"Zander, what did you see?" she asked hoping to coax him into telling her about his dream.

"I saw everything Em and I heard them talking. I heard the gunfire and saw them leave the study, just like I said before." he replied as she got up from the bed and walked towards him.

"Did you see who it was? Was it Sonny?" she asked again. Zander slipped to that far away place again, and was set back to reality when she called his name a few times.

"Yeah it was Sonny but there's more Em .... " he said as turned into her. "The argument they were having was about me, Em .. it was about me."

Emily pulled him into her as he felt guilt wash over him. His father was dead because of him, not because of some business deal gone wrong, but because of him.

"It's all my fault." he said as they walked back towards the bed and sat down once again.

"This is not your fault Zander, you were 8 years old. You were just a little boy, so don't go blaming yourself." he knew she was right but he just kept thinking about the argument between his father and Sonny. And then it hit him, like a punch in the gut as he remembered more of the argument and why they were arguing over him.

His mind went back and forth between Frank and the man he knew only as Michael, because that's what his dad called him as. "But Frank wasn't my father .... that's what they were fighting about ..."

The more Zander remembered about that night, the tears in his eyes welled as he realized what had actually happened that night, how much he had truly heard coming from inside the study.

"Zander, you lost me again. Frank wasn't your father? Then who was?" Emily asked as he kept slipping in and out to that far away place.

"Michael .... that's what the fight was about." he repeated as he snapped back from empty blank stare.

Emily sighed. "Okay, who's Michael? Someone you knew, a close family friend, who?"

He stared into her eyes and said bluntly....."Sonny."

Emily steadied herself against the bed post so she wouldn't fall over from shock when Zander told her that Michael was name Sonny used when he first got into the business with Frank.

"Sonny Corinthos is your father?!" she replied in complete amazement at Zander's revelation.

Zander scratched the top of his head and really wondered to himself if what he had dreamt was the truth. "I don't know Em, I'm just telling you what I remembered. Sonny shot Frank because Frank was going to shoot him for betrayal and for sleeping with my mother."

Zander quickly got passed the tears and found himself quickly with anger building inside him as he remembered more of the conversation between Frank and Sonny.

"Wait.... " he got up from the bed and began to pace the room, like pacing would make him remember more. "Frank was furious with Sonny for sleeping with my mother, but it wasn't a mutual fling .... that son of a bitch raped her!" Zander yelled out in anger as he remembered more clearly the argument between Frank and Sonny.

His fists clenched in rage, he felt the urge to release it on something and picked up the vase and threw it against the wall. The impact shattered the vase and all that was in it on the floor. Emily jumped as the shattering vase made a loud sound as it hit the wall and broke in a million pieces. She had never seen such anger from Zander before and she was over come with fear. She knew he'd never hurt her that way, but she was afraid for him, and what he might do now knowing what he knew.

Zander realized what he had done and what he had remembered so vividly now, his knees buckled underneath him and he went down onto the floor. Tears began to fall from his eyes and Emily went to him and held him in her arms wishing she could take the pain he was feeling all away.

Zander cried out in pain as he realized what his mother had endured all those many years ago and that he was the result of the violent attack that was done to her.

Emily wrapped her arms around him and tried to comfort him the best she could. He klinged to her like he had become the small boy he once was, the small scared little boy who witnessed the murder of his father by the hands of another.

Emily sat with him on the floor of their bedroom rocking back and forth, as the tears just flowed from him, as if all 15 years of sorrow and pain was released. As she sat with him in her arms she smoothed back his hair with her hands, trying to soothe him the best she could. She just wanted to take the pain away, but she knew he was the one who was going to have to work through his knowing what had truly happened that night.

"I am so sorry ...." he whimpered under his breath over and over again.

"Shhh .. Zander this not your fault, you are not to blame for any of this." she whispered to him hoping he was listening to her on some level.

She had felt for some time that as a little boy had suffered something very traumatic but she would of never guessed something like this.

They sat a while on the floor before she tried to get him to the bed where he'd be more comfortable. He stood up with her and followed her to the bed. As he wiped away the tears that he had cried, more just fell from his eyes. He felt his chest tighten as he tried to choke back the tears, she handed him a tissue to dry his eyes with and sat down next to him on the edge of the bed.

It seemed all the emotions he had built up inside him had been released and as he tried to piece together a coherent thought.

"I'm sorry about the vase." he apologized as he glanced over to the shattered vase lying on the floor.

"Oh don't worry about the vase ... to tell you the truth, I didn't like it anyways." she replied and cracked a smile. He chuckled.

The tension in the room was broken and they both felt relief when it had dissipated from the air. Now that he remembered, it was time to take the next step.... to make sure Sonny was brought to justice for all his crimes.


	23. Chapter 23

_Emily left Zander sleeping as she headed downstairs to make a phone call to Ric. He needed to know that Zander remembered, but she'd let Zander tell him what it was all about. She quietly picked up her cell phone and called Ric._

She listened to it repeatedly ring, Ric wasn't answering. She decided to leave a message for him on his voice mail, hoping he'd return the call as soon as he got it. She flipped the phone closed after she left Ric message to call her and laid it back down on the table before heading back upstairs to bed.

She slipped back into bed with Zander, trying not to wake him, after the night he had, he needed his rest. She laid awake listening to the silence of the night and watched over her husband laying next to her. She smoothed back his forelock wondering what was going on inside his head as he slept. She hoped now that he remembered what had happened that night Frank was shot, his nightmares about it would subside.

The morning sun filtered through the trees and into the bedroom window, she awoke to being alone and she sat up in bed quickly. "Zander?" she called out for him with no answer.

She slipped from the bed and put on her robe and slippers before she headed out the door of the bedroom and down the stairs. She searched the down stairs and found no one, but a fresh pot of coffee that was made. She went to the front door and opened it, thinking that Zander had gone to see his brother, she wasn't expecting to find him sitting alone on the front porch.

He turned and looked towards the door when he heard it open. "Morning....." he said as he saw her standing in the doorway.

"Morning, what are you doing out here, Zander?" she asked as she stepped out onto the front porch with him.

"Just thinking." he replied as he held a cup of coffee between his hands to keep them warm. Emily sat down on the step with him and snuggled close.

"Have you told your brother yet?" she asked as she looked up at him. His arms wrapped around her as their hands wrapped around the one cup of coffee.

"Not yet." he replied and she didn't question his reasons for not calling Ric, he'd do it in his own time she guessed.

As they sat with each other on the steps, they were startled by the sound of a vehicle coming down the dirt road. Zander rushed Emily into the house and he followed closely behind, not wanting anyone to know they were there. He peered out the window from behind the curtain as the vehicle pulled up to the rustic cabin. He realized he knew the vehicle and went to open the door for their visitor.

"Hey little brother ..." Ric said as he emerged from the black SUV and then came into full view as he walked around the front of the truck. Zander handed his cup of coffee off to Emily before he stepped out onto the front porch of the cabin. 

Zander came down the stairs to greet Ric with a brotherly embrace. "Hey you weren't kidding when you said it was a well hidden place." Ric chuckled as the two of them went into the cabin.

Zander explained to Emily that he had called Ric earlier that morning to come and see them. He didn't want to tell his brother all that happened in the middle of the PCPD, the cabin was more appropriate.

Zander and Ric took seats on the sofa in the living room as Emily went to get them all some coffee.

"You're call sounded urgent, so I came as soon as I could." Ric said as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and made himself more comfortable on the couch.

"Yeah urgent would be a good word for it." Zander smirked.

"I hope you have some good news for me, and we can pick up Sonny again for murder." Ric replied anxiously awaiting what Zander had to tell him.

"Good news? Well, for you maybe, but not for me. What I remembered just brought on more questions for me, Ric. But I do remember that Sonny shot Frank." Ric found it strange that Zander used their names and didn't call Frank, father like he had done before.

"Is there something more, Zander? If there is, I'd like to hear it." Ric replied as Emily came into the room with a tray and she set it down on the coffee table in front of them. Zander reached for a cup of coffee and took a sip before beginning his story what had happened. Emily heard the cries of Devon from upstairs and excused herself to check on him.

"Have anything more to tell me, Zander?" Ric asked as he held the cup of coffee between his hands.

"You mean like from what I remembered last night that Frank Smith was not my father, but that Sonny is?" Zander replied.

"Sonny? .... Is your father? Are you sure, Zander?" Ric questioned surprised to hear what Zander had told him.

"As sure as I want to be right now, believe me, it was a shock to me too. But that's what I remembered about the argument between Sonny and Frank that night. Frank accused Sonny of raping my mother 8 years earlier, he had found out that I was Sonny's son, not his. He was furious with Sonny, and wanted to kill him for doing what he had done to his family and to his wife. Sonny shot Frank before Frank got a shot at him."

Ric sat and listened as Emily came down the stairs with Devon in her arms. She turned the corner with him and headed into the kitchen to feed him his breakfast.

"Well, I'm sure the statute has run out on the rape of your mother, but we certainly can arrest Sonny for killing Frank....with your testimony, Sonny should get alot of years behind bars." Ric replied.

Zander's stomach churned at the word "testimony". He didn't want to talk about that night to anyone, it was painful for him just to think about it. But if it would put Sonny in jail for what he had done, he'd have to tell his story in front of a judge.

"Are you ready for that?" Ric asked as he saw Zander went pale at the mention of testifying against Sonny.

"No, I'm not ready to testify against Sonny ... my father, but I have to, I'm the only witness you have that can put him away for this." Zander replied.

"I'm sorry for all the pain that Sonny has caused, he certainly deserves the punishment that the judge hands down on him. He's hurt alot of people over the years and it's time he pays for all he's done." Ric said trying to be sympathetic towards his brother.

"Yeah he has caused alot of pain to many people, but my only concern right now is that Sonny gets charged with murder and that he go to prison for a very long time for it. He's taken way too many years from me, Ric. I'm not going to let him get away with it!"


	24. Chapter 24

_A few days later, Zander had agreed to meet Ric in his office to talk about the case against Sonny. Ric had already served the arrest warrant and searched Sonny's penthouse for anything that may help build his case. Alexis was asked to sit in on the discussions, since she and Ric both would be handling this case._

Ric sat behind his desk jotting down some notes on his legal pad, when he heard a few knocks on the door. "Yeah, it's open." he called from his desk. The door opened and Ric looked up from his papers and saw Zander standing in the doorway. He invited his brother into the office and to have a seat. They'd wait for Alexis who would be showing up at any minute.

Zander and Ric didn't wait more then a few minutes before Alexis walked into the office with her briefcase in hand.

"Alexis and I will be working on this case together, Zander. I asked her to sit in on our get together this morning, so she can get up to speed on what's going on." Ric explained.

Zander glanced towards Alexis who took a seat next to him in the empty chair. Alexis cracked a smile as she and Zander made eye contact for a brief moment.

"Zander, I need you to tell us about the night Frank Smith was shot. And I need every little detail you can remember, even if it doesn't seem important, it could be helpful." Alexis said as she took out her legal pad and pencil to take notes.

Alexis was very thorough and she wanted to be sure she had all the information she needed to win. Ric took out the mini tape recorder from his desk and set it up in front of Zander. Zander saw the recorder and froze in his seat. The last time he saw the recorder, it wasn't a pleasant experience for him, and he certainly didn't like his story being on tape for everyone and anyone to hear. 

Ric noticed Zander's reaction to the tape recorder. "Sorry, we need to have this down on record." Ric replied hoping that Zander wouldn't let the recorder or Alexis keep him from telling his story.

"Nah, that's okay. You need to get this down, I understand." Zander replied as he tried to get comfortable in his seat.

"Whenever you're ready, Zander." Alexis said as she sat waiting for him to tell his story to her.

He tried to relax in the chair as he began telling them what he remembered about the night Frank was killed, but his insides twisted as he thought of what Sonny had done to his mother and the man he knew to be his father.

"It was late, after midnight, I think. I woke up and was thirsty, so I went downstairs to get a drink. I saw a light on in my father's study, which wasn't unusual, dad often worked late. I went to the kitchen and got a drink, and on my way back to bed, I heard loud voices coming from the study. The door now slightly open, so I could see who was in with my father, before the door was closed tight and I didn't hear the voices when I came down, just when I was going back. I stood and listened at the door, making sure they didn't see me. Frank and his visitor were arguing back and forth, dad was furious with Michael about something but I didn't understand why, and he didn't tell the whole story while I listened. Dad shouted about betrayal and what he did to those who betrayed him. He shouted at Michael about sleeping with my mother and then he said that Michael would pay for his crimes, and it wasn't fair that I had to pay for what he had done. Michael said that he would make my father pay for the crimes he committed against my mother and then he shot him. After hearing the shot, I hid in the shadows till I saw Michael leave the study in hurry. I ran upstairs and back to bed like nothing had happened."

Ric turned off the tape recorder as Alexis finished up writing down notes on her legal pad. Zander sighed heavily as he sat a little more relaxed in his chair after telling his story for the third time.

"Okay is that everything you remember, Zander?" Alexis asked and Zander glared at her.

"Isn't that enough?! I just gave you Sonny Corinthos on a silver platter, what more do you want from me?!" Zander snapped back as he stood up from his chair in disgust.

"We just need to be sure we're not missing anything, Zander. Any little detail can be called on and then we have problems." Ric said trying to convince his brother why they needed all of what he remembers.

"Look, I found out last night that my mother was raped by my father's ... sorry, Frank's right hand man, and that the right hand man, is my real father, not Frank. Let me make this clear, for the two of you, my father is Sonny Corinthos! Is that clear enough for you?" Zander said as he noticed the looks coming from Alexis and Ric both. "And the two of you want more? What do you want, blood?!" Zander continued and Alexis raised an eyebrow.

"A blood sample wouldn't hurt, we could prove conclusively that you are Sonny's son." Zander returned another glare towards her.

"You're kidding right? I already know that the man is my father, why would I need to have DNA to prove it?! He raped my mother, and he murdered my stepfather! I want nothing to do with the man and I hope he spends the next 25 years to life in prison for it!" Zander stormed out of his brother's office in anger.

Ric leaned back in his chair and watched his brother storm out of the office. "Wow, that went well, don't you think?"


	25. Chapter 25

_"Do you think he'd see a professional?" Alexis asked as she put the legal pad back into her case. Ric sat up and leaned forward on his desk._

"Zander? Are you kidding? No, I'd say a shrink is not something Zander would do willingly." Rick chuckled. "Besides, he's not on trial here, Sonny is." he added and got up from his seat.

"Okay, you're right. He wouldn't go willingly, but he needs to talk with someone, Ric. He's very angry and ..."

"And what, Alexis? I can certainly understand why Zander's angry! Hell, I'm angry about it .. remember, this was my mother too! But I'm handling it alot better then Zander is. I didn't witness the killing of Frank or hear it first hand what happened, and of course I'm not the child of a rape! But taking into consideration all that boy has been through over the past 15 years and more importantly over the last few days, he's doing considerably well."

Alexis could see that Ric was getting more agitated the longer she stayed and tried to convince him otherwise about his brother, so she decided to take her thoughts and her case elsewhere.

"If you need anything else, I'll be in my office." she said as she headed out the door.

After Alexis left the room, Ric's knees buckled underneath him and he fell into the chair. He had heard Zander's story, but he didn't really listen and once he did, it finally sank in that what had happened to Zander's mother, had happened to his. He was too busy trying to build a case against Sonny to realize what Sonny had done, he had done to his mother. Ric was 12 at the time, and didn't live with his mother and her new family. He had been enrolled in boarding school and spent most of his time away from home. He only came home to visit during the summer.

Ric sat alone in his office and stared at his surroundings. He had worked so hard to get where he was, his mother made the sacrifices any other mother would make for her child, a good life, a good school, all the love she could give him and for someone like Sonny Corinthos to strip that from her was inconceivable, it didn't seem real. As he sat alone, he could feel his eyes fill with tears, he couldn't imagine what Zander was going through.

He was startled by a knock on the door, and he quickly wiped his eyes dry with his hands, hoping that no one saw him crying in the dark. He composed himself and got up from his seat. "Yeah, what is it?" he asked as he approached his visitor.

"I just thought you'd like to see this, sir." the young intern said as he handed Ric a manila colored folder. Ric thanked him for bringing the information to him and closed the door. He went to take a seat behind his desk and opened the folder to read what it had to say.

He read over the papers inside and slammed down his fist on his desk in disgust. "Dammit!" he shouted to an empty room. "He's not going to get away with this! Sonny Corinthos is not getting off this easy!" Ric got up from his seat and stormed out of his office. Ric was on a mission and he wouldn't rest until he saw Sonny Corinthos behind bars, and no one was going to get in his way to put him there.

Ric walked into the squad room with a purpose, the folder in his hand. He slammed down the folder on the desk of an unexpecting police officer. As he did, Mac came out from the interrogation room wondering what was going on in his squad room.

"What is going on out here?!" Mac asked as he approached Ric was obviously upset about something.

"You tell me that Sonny isn't walking out of here tonight, Mac?! Give me something we can hold him on!" Mac hung his head. He knew Ric wanted Sonny so bad he could taste it, but Mac didn't have enough evidence to hold him this time.

"I'm sorry Ric, we don't have anything but Zander's word for it. The other evidence got thrown out, loopholes from the previous investigation." Mac replied somberly. He wanted as much as Ric did to get Sonny for killing Frank, but screw ups in the previous investigation prevented some evidence to be presented to the court, and without it, they had nothing to charge Sonny with.

Mac and Ric stood together as Sonny emerged from the interrogation room. "Can we remove the cuffs now?" Sonny's attorney said as she stood beside her client.

"Spencer, remove the cuffs." Mac ordered.

Lucky hesitated. "Now, Spencer." Mac ordered again. "Yes sir." Lucky did as he was ordered to and released Sonny's wrists from the cuffs.

As Sonny walked past Ric, he smirked and said smugly .... "Better luck next time, counselor."

Ric's angered eyes followed Sonny towards the door. It took everything he had inside him not to grab Sonny but he left him go. He would have his day with Sonny and when he did, he'd be sure no one would be witness to it.

Ric muttered to himself .... "Don't you worry, Sonny .... next time will be here sooner then you know." 


	26. Chapter 26

_Ric stormed out of the squad room and back to his office. He was angry, he was frustrated and he was going to put Sonny Corinthos behind bars for what he had done to his family if was the last thing Ric would ever do. He reached his office and slammed the door. He chuckled to himself and wondered what his colleague, Alexis would think about his behavior now, she'd probably send him to see the shrink._

It was back to square one with the case against Sonny. He was just hoping that after 15 years, those who were interviewed back then would be willing to talk with police now. He sat down behind his desk and reached for the file folder on this case. As he did there was a knock at his door.

"Yeah, come in!" he shouted from behind his desk. The door opened slowly and his visitor peered inside.

"I'm not going to get hit or anything if I come in, am I?" Steele joked.

"Nah, not right away, Steele. Come on in." Ric chuckled as he invited the Detective into his office.

"Look, I'm sorry about the case falling through like it did. But all is not lost, sir." Steele said as he stepped into Ric's office and closed the door.

"Not all lost? As of right now, yeah it is." Ric said as he flipped open the file folder.

"Not quite yet. I still have a few aces up my sleeve. Would you like to hear the hand I have yet to deal?" Steele replied and what he had to say certainly interested Ric.

"Sure, pull up a chair, Steele. Tell me about it." Ric replied as Steele accepted Ric's offer and sat down.

"I don't think we can get Mr. Corinthos on murder charges, but that may change in time, but what I do have is evidence, hard evidence that can convict him on numerous other charges. At least it would give us time to gather the evidence we need for that murder charge." Steele said.

"What other charges are we talking about, Steele?"

"The kind that can put a man away for the next 20 to 25 years. The kind that would consist of drug running from here to Florida and back again."

What Steele had to say piqued Ric's interest. Whatever would tie up Sonny's attorney for a while was good enough for him. It would buy them some time to gather evidence for a murder conviction.

"And how did you come about this evidence?" Ric asked as he leaned forward in his chair.

"Various sources, but mostly from digging in the right places and talking to the right people." Steele replied, though vague with his answer.

"I'm listening." Ric replied wanting to hear more.

"Friends of mine in a different precinct have folders on Mr. Corinthos, dating back 10 to 15 years, but just didn't have enough to charge him with anything in particular. Witnesses paid off, disappeared or worse. Evidence collected disappeared or not logged and fell through the cracks ... there was always something that happened to force the release of Mr. Corinthos. But all of it put together would bring some mighty hefty charges against him....perhaps Federal charges as well." Steele explained.

"I see. Am I too assume that these files are still in Florida and that by tomorrow afternoon you could have these cases for me?" Ric asked hoping Steele could get what he needed.

"Yes, I guess you could assume that." Steele smirked.

"Good .. get them for me ASAP. I want to see them right away. And while you're at it, I want all the information you can get on this 15 year old murder case. Everything, from transcripts from the court files to witness statements to the evidence that was logged in. I want to know if Sonny Corinthos got a parking ticket in Florida during the time he was there!" Ric ordered.

"You got it. It might take a while for some of it but I can get it to you." Steele replied knowing his mission was a large one but it could be done.

"Good .. I expect full reports from you by tomorrow afternoon."  
Steele nodded in acknowledgement of Ric's request and got up from his seat.

"Don't worry, we'll get him, sir." Steele added before he left Ric's office.

Ric felt a little better after his conversation with Detective Steele. One way or another he was determined to file charges against Sonny Corinthos that would stick. He could feel it inside him, it was going to happen very soon.

After leaving Ric's office, Zander found himself sitting on the docks for a while. He sat alone on the bench just looking out over the choppy waters. The breeze had picked up and the water rippled in and out against the pier. He decided he had stayed long enough in town, it was time to go back to the cabin and be with his family. He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

"Marcus ... can you pick me up at Pier 33? No, everything's fine, I'd just like to go back to the cabin now. Thanks." Zander flipped the phone closed and stuck it back in his pocket. He sat on the bench till he saw the headlights of his limo approaching. He got up and walked towards the car as Marcus got out and went to open the back door for him.

Marcus drove Zander back to the cabin where Emily was waiting for him. She greeted him on the front porch as he walked up to her.

"Hey, how did it go?" she asked as he pulled her into embrace.

He sighed heavily. "Not well. I don't think they have much of a case against Sonny. Not unless Ric can find some new evidence to present."

He could see in her eyes that she was disappointed. "I'm sorry, Zander. I know you were expecting some good news." she said somberly as they walked into the cabin together.

"Yeah I was and I know Ric was too." he replied as he sat down on the couch. "All we can do now is wait to hear from Ric, which might take a while till he has something concrete to take to court." he added.

"Well, I know Ric, he's not going to stop till he gets a conviction. He's bound and determined to get Sonny and he won't stop till he does." she said as she sat down with him.

They snuggled together on the couch for a while till they heard Devon from upstairs. "I'll go ..." he said as he got up from his seat. Emily smiled and watched as he went up the stairs. She knew Devon would be able to put a smile back on Zander's face, he always did.


	27. Chapter 27

_Another week had passed, Zander was getting anxious about the hearing coming up, Ric asked him to testify in front of the Grand Jury, he needed Zander to get the indictment of murder against Sonny. Testifying weighed heavily on Zander's mind as he tried to relax some on the sofa in front of the fireplace._

Emily emerged from upstairs, just checking on Devon, he never slept very long in the afternoon anymore, so she had been making a few trips up the stairs to check on him.

"Can I make you something to eat?" Emily said as she approached her husband.

"No thanks, I'm not very hungry." he replied as he pulled his legs in so she could sit next to him.

"I'm worried about you, Zander. Care to talk about it?" she asked as she rubbed her hand along his thigh.

"I'm sick of talking about it. I just wish this was all over with." he snapped.

She didn't know what she could do for him, she just wish she could take all the pain and worry away for him. Testifying was the last thing he wanted to do against Sonny, but there was no other way to get the conviction they wanted. Sonny needed to pay for his crimes, and it was all hinging on Zander's testimony. It was alot of pressure for him to handle, he was unsure of himself and he was reluctant to tell the whole world about his past and where he came from.

"How bout we get out of this house for a while? Go for a walk down by the lake. I'm sure Devon would love that." she suggested.

Zander himself up on the sofa and leaned into her. "I'm sure he would. Why don't you go get him and we'll go." he replied.

Emily went upstairs to get Devon dressed to go outside. It had been cool so she dressed him warmly and then brought him downstairs. While she was getting Devon dressed, Zander had taken the stroller out of the closet and popped it open, it was waiting for Devon when she came downstairs with him. Emily sat Devon in the seat and strapped him in.

Zander opened the door for her and grabbed their jackets before closing the door behind him. Emily waited for him on the porch and he helped her with taking Devon and the stroller down the steps.

He breathed in the cool crisp air as she took a hold of his hand, he pushing the stroller along the well beaten path down to the lake.

"Thank you." he said with a smile.

"For what?" she asked.

"For getting me out of the house. I was going stir crazy in there." Emily smiled up at him. She hoped spending some time with his family would take away his worries, at least for a little while.

The fall colors were decorated the trees around the lake, as they got near, her eyes widened at the beautiful sight before her. He saw her reaction to nature's beauty as they came upon the man made lake.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he said as she took in the array of colors.

"Yes it is, very much so." she agreed. It certainly was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen.

"You know in the winter time, this lake is good for ice skating." he smiled at her hoping she'd take him up on his offer.

"You offering?" she replied with a cocked eyebrow.

"Of course I am, that is if you want to come up here again with me. I don't know, I haven't been the easiest person to get along with while we've been here."

"Of course I would come here with you again, Zander. I am so glad you suggested it. But ..um, perhaps next time we will leave Devon with Granma and Granpa." she replied as she looped her arm with his and pulled him to her.

"What? Leave him out of all the fun of making snow angels and ice skating?" Zander chuckled.

Emily pondered the thought of being at the cabin alone with her husband versus having Devon with them. After all that will happen over the next few months, she thought the two of them deserved some time alone.

"Snow angels? I was thinking more of the roaring fire and cold nights cuddling with you underneath some warm blankets." she replied as they walked along together with Devon.

"Oh, I see. So you want to get me up here to seduce me, is that it?" he laughed.

"Hey it was your idea. So now who's seducing whom?" she giggled.

They walked the entire path along the lake and turned down the path back towards the house. As they approached the house, they noticed Ric's car pull up. Zander kissed Emily on her cheek and hurried to meet Ric who emerged from his car, along with his passenger, Alexis.

"Hey, what brings the two of you up here? More news on the case?" Zander asked after he embraced his brother hello.

Emily had walked up to them with Devon still in the stroller, as Alexis bent down to say hello to the toddler. Ric wrapped his arm around Zander's neck and led him up to the house and onto the front porch.

"Yeah, there is some stuff we need to talk about. But it can wait, I want to visit with my family for a while, okay." Ric said as Emily and Alexis followed them into the house.

As the four of them entered the house, Emily removed her jacket and hung it on the peg at the door. "Anyone care for some coffee or hot chocolate?" she offered as her guests and Zander went into the living room and sat down on the couch. They all nodded in agreement, so she went into the kitchen, Alexis followed behind her and offered to help.

"How's he holding up?" Alexis asked as she got some coffee cups down from the cupboard.

"He's not. He's so worried about testifying, Alexis. I thought taking a walk would do him some good, get him out of this house for a while. Being cooped up all the time is just giving him more reason to think about this hearing coming up." Emily replied as she filled the kettle with water and put it on the stove.

"I know this is difficult for him, Emily. It's been hard on everyone and I suspect worse on him because everything rides on his testimony. But Ric and I will both be there, he doesn't have to worry, we'll take care of everything." Alexis trying to calm the fears she was feeling from Emily about Zander.

"I know, the two of you will take care of him during all this, but he's worried about everyone finding out about his past, something he's gone to great lengths to hide. He's a very private person and to have his life story spread across the front page of the Port Charles Herald and every other newspaper in the country it's just not for him. He's worried about what this is going to do for his business, this isn't something he wants his associates to know, it can really be bad for him in that way, it will make him look weak or less of a threat, which will bring on more danger for us." Emily explained as she and Alexis sat down at the kitchen table and waited for the water to boil in the kettle.

"Hopefully we don't have to go to trial, but if I know Sonny Corinthos and his attorney, we will be seeing the inside of a courtroom. I know Vickie, she's not going to let this go, she's going to prove her client innocent of all charges, we can count on that."

"Vickie? You know Sonny's attorney?" Emily asked.

"Yes I do, Vickie and I went to college together. We haven't seen each other in years, but I've been following her career in the newspapers and such, she's very good and very tenacious. Ric's going to have a fight on his hands in court, I can tell you that. Which is also why we want to make sure Zander is ready for what's to come, because even though we can protect him the best we can with our questions, I'm not so sure Vickie will be. I want Zander to be prepared."

The kettle on the stove started to whistle and Emily got up and removed it from the burner. She filled the coffee cups with hot water and added the hot chocolate packets and the coffee jar to the tray. She and Alexis carried it out to the living room, and found Zander and Ric content on the sofa with Devon.

The four of them spent the afternoon together, talking about anything but the case against Sonny. It seemed it was not the topic for discussion, all were worried about what was to come over the next few weeks. An afternoon spent with Ric seemed to be what Zander needed to rid himself of his worries.


	28. Chapter 28

_Zander laid awake thinking of what the day was going to bring him, today was the day in front of the Grand Jury and he was concerned. He glanced over to the alarm clock that sat on the night stand next to him, he had a few more hours before he had to be at the courthouse, but he climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. He closed the door behind him once inside so he wouldn't wake Emily. He stripped from his boxers and turned on the faucet in the shower. Pulling the lever to the shower head, the water sprayed down in an even stream and he stepped in. The water pounded against his tired muscles as he leaned back his head, saturating his skin, the warm water released his worries. _

He turned into the water spray and it fell down across his chest, water beaded against his skin as the steam rose to the ceiling. He heard the door to the bathroom open and shortly after heard Emily call his name.

"Zander?" He peeked his head out of the shower and saw her standing in the doorway letting all the cold air in, it gave him goosebumps and made him shiver. "Are you okay?" she asked when she saw his head peek out from behind the curtain.

"I'm okay. If you're coming in close the door, please. It's a tad chilly in here with the door open." he chuckled and then saw her step inside and close the door.

"Sorry."

He closed the curtain again and reached for the bar of soap sitting in the tray. He rolled the soap in his hands and made a frothy lather. She peeked in to see him applying the lather in his hands to his chiseled form and she smiled.

"Need any help?" she flirted. He noticed she had already discarded the robe she was wearing as he pulled back the shower curtain and invited her in with him. He handed her the bar of soap and she took it in her hands. The lather she made, she applied to his skin as he felt her hands caress his tired muscles in his back. He turned into her, so she could lather up the other side of him, her hands dripping with soap, caressed his chest, then his stomach, and he felt them wander down to his lower abdomen. Her fingers brushed against him as he leaned down and tenderly kissed her.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, the kiss deepened and became more passionate as he backed her up against the shower wall. Her hand found itself wrapped around him. His kisses continued down along her neck, then down the front of her. A sigh of pleasure escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered close, her hands now intertwined in his coal black hair, pressing him to her. His mouth wandered down the front of her, leaving a trail of kisses, her insides quivered as he explored every inch of her.

The water cascading over their naked bodies as he picked up her up in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. His mouth found hers once more as she sat down on top of him. Another moan of pleasure escaped her lips and it echoed through him. He held her against him as he pushed her back against the shower wall. Her hands caressed the nape of his neck, as his kisses trailed down her neck, he nuzzling against her soft skin.

He watched as her eyes fluttered close and her tongue caressed her lips. His mouth found hers once more as he felt the juices inside her wash over him. She left out a pleasure cry as her body quivered against him. He held her in his arms and turned around, so he was now against the shower wall, still connected, the pace quickened and he felt himself about to explode inside her.

She fell limp against him, still connected, she left out another sigh. He lifted her from him and reached up with his hand and brushed back her auburn hair from her face. Water beads trickled down her nose as he leaned in once more and kissed her tenderly.

"I love you Zander ....so much. No matter what happens today, remember that." He pulled her to him as he wrapped his arms around her and smiled.

"I know, and I love you too, baby."

He pulled back the shower curtain and grabbed a bath towel from the rack. She stepped out and wrapped herself in it as he went and turned off the water. She grabbed him another towel and handed it to him. He wrapped it around his waist and stepped out of the shower. She led the way back into the bed room and he followed close behind. She went to the closet and opened up the door, thinking of what they should wear to the courthouse. She wanted him to look nice, so she pulled out one of his black suits and showed it to him.

"The black suit today?" she asked as she held it up for him to see. He glanced at the clock on the night stand, they still had a few more hours to spare, and he walked over to her, took the suit from her hands and hung it back in the closet. She gave a confused look to him in return as he looked back at her.

"I didn't say anything about getting dressed, yet." he quietly said as he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. She giggled as he laid her down, her towel opening up to reveal her to him. Her hand reached for the towel still wrapped around his waist and she gave it a tug. It opened up and fell to the floor in a pile around his feet. Her eyes wandered up, catching a glimpse of him before their eyes met.

She could feel his eyes devouring every inch of her as she reached for his hand. He climbed into bed with her and pulled the blankets up and over their bodies. All he wanted to do was lay next to her and feel her against him, she draped her arm across his body and laid her head in the niche of his shoulder.

She could hear his heart pounding in his chest as he wrapped his arm around her and held her close to him. She could feel his fears twist and turn inside him as she laid against him and she knew his nightmare was far from over.


	29. Chapter 29

_Zander and Emily walked up the front steps of the courthouse together, she could feel that he was nervous about testifying. She looked down at her watch and saw they had about an hour or so before he had to report. The two of them walked down the hallway towards the courtroom and took a seat on one of the empty benches along the wall and waited for Ric and Alexis. Emily was glad they had made arrangements for her parents to keep Devon for the day while they were at the courthouse._

Zander went over his testimony in his head while he waited with his wife, his hands were collecting moisture the longer he sat there thinking about what he had to say. This was only the Grand Jury hearing and if the court found enough evidence to indict, they would, then he'd have to tell his story all over again for a jury. He needed to focus and concentrate on the matters at hand, there was no room in his mind for business matters that had popped up the night before, the Jason problem could wait.

As he and Emily sat together quietly, he noticed Ric appear from around the corner with his briefcase in hand. Nicely dressed in a dark suit, dark blue shirt and dark blue tie, his shoes polished till they shined, he walked with purpose as he approached them.

"No Alexis yet?" he questioned as he looked around the corridor for her.

"No not yet." Zander said as he wrung his hands together. Ric noticing his brother was nervous.

"You're going to do fine, Zander. Alexis and I will be there every step of the way." Ric reassured his brother.

Footsteps were heard coming up from behind Ric and he turned to see who was approaching him. Alexis neared wearing a dark black pinstriped double breasted suit with a white silk blouse, she looked ready for her day in court.

"You look nice." Ric complimented her on her appearance.

"Thanks." Alexis cracked a smile.

"I didn't know the two of you were ... um ..." Zander began and smiled.

"Oh, we're not ...." they replied quickly. "Strictly platonic ...." Alexis replied .

Emily and Zander looked at each other and smiled. "Oh okay ... we just thought .." Emily said as Ric and Alexis tried to disparage them from thinking there was anything else going on. Emily giggled trying to hide her amusement at the two of them.

Alexis looked down at her watch and noticed the time. "We should get in there." she said to Ric. "After you .." he replied as he stretched out his arm and left Alexis lead the way.

"You'll be called by the bailiff when we're ready for you, Zander." Alexis said before walking away and towards the door to the courtroom.

Emily stretched her arm across the back of the bench and caressed Zander's shoulders trying to help him relax. This was only the beginning for him, and she wanted to support him as much as she could through this ordeal. It wasn't going to be easy and he wasn't making it so by worrying.

They sat there a while before the bailiff came out and asked him to step inside and take the stand. Zander got up from the bench and Emily took his hand. They walked in together and Emily took a seat behind Alexis, as Zander walked passed them and took the stand. He adjusted his tie and unbuttoned his jacket before he sat down in the chair. He ran his hand through his hair nervously as he sat and waited for Ric to start his examination. Zander tried not to make eye contact with Sonny who sat at the table with his attorney, Zander knew if he did, he would freeze up and he couldn't let his mother or his brother down. He needed to do this.

Ric stood up from his seat and buttoned his jacket before walking towards Zander in the witness box. Zander cleared his throat and got himself prepared to tell his story to those who were in the courtroom that day. Ric gave Zander a nod of reassurance as he stood before him.

"Please state your name and occupation for the record." Ric instructed.

"Zander Smith, and I am a business man here in Port Charles." Zander replied and he looked over Ric's shoulder at Emily sitting in the front row.

"Now, Mr. Smith tell us how you are involved in this case against Mr. Corinthos, please." Ric asked as he walked back towards the prosecution table.

"I am the son of the man Sonny murdered 15 years ago in Florida." Zander replied with a glare towards Sonny.

"Objection, your honor ... my client has not yet been convicted of this crime." Victoria spoke up.

"This may be true, counselor, but this isn't a trial, it's just a hearing to see if the prosecution has enough evidence, so your objection is overruled. You may continue, Mr. Lansing." Judge Cooper replied.

"Thank you, your honor." Ric replied "Now, Mr. Smith can you tell us in your own words what happened the night of March 21st, 15 years ago?" he instructed Zander as he approached the witness box once more.

Zander cleared his throat before he began telling his story of what he remembered about that night. He felt his heart beat pound inside his chest as images of that night flashed in his head, each image more vivid then the last. His palms began collecting moisture as he became more and more uncomfortable in his seat. His mouth became dry like cotton as he moistened his lips with a swipe of his tongue.

This was going to be more difficult then he thought, but he looked towards Emily smiling at him lovingly and he knew everything would be alright, he just had to tell the truth about that night and this nightmare would soon be over.


	30. Chapter 30

_Zander looked over at Sonny sitting at the table to his left and felt nothing, there was no love for the man who shot his stepfather. Sonny was in for a rude awakening if he thought he was going to get away with raping his mother and killing Frank. Zander assumed that Sonny remembered all of what happened that night, the argument that ensued between he and Frank, he didn't realize that much of that night and led up to it was a big black hole for Sonny too._

Ric saw that Zander was in distress about telling his story and nodded in encouragement. Zander glanced at Ric and then at Emily before he began, he knew he had the support of his family to help him through this.

"Please tell us Zander, what transpired that night." Ric coaxed.

"Um, it was after midnight, and I couldn't sleep. So I went downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink. I saw the light on in my father's office, which wasn't unusual, he often worked late. I didn't hear any voices coming from the office as I passed to go to the kitchen. I got my drink and walked back passed the office to the stairs. Voices were now arguing and very loudly." Zander stopped as Ric interrupted him.

"And how old were you, Zander?" Ric asked.

"I was 8 years old. And I was curious as to what was going on in the office, so I stood and listened at the door. It wasn't closed tight, but I stayed out of sight just the same." Zander continued.

"And who was arguing inside Frank's office?" Ric asked.

"Um, it was Frank and his right hand man, Michael Corinthos." Zander replied as he looked at Sonny.

"And Michael Corinthos for the record is Sonny Corinthos, is that right?"

"Yes, Michael Corinthos was the name Sonny used while he worked for my ... for Frank." Zander replied and corrected himself.

"And Zander, do you remember what the argument was about? Please tell the court."

"The argument was about my mother. Frank accused Michael of sleeping with my mother and betraying him by doing so." Zander replied as images of what was said flashed in his head.

Ric looked towards Sonny and then back at Zander. "Was this affair consensual, Zander? Or did Mr. Corinthos rape your mother?"

"Your Honor! Rape was not specified in the list of charges against my client, it should not be mentioned now!" Victoria stood up from her seat and objected to the line of questions.

"Your Honor, the mention of rape wasn't mentioned in the charges because the statute of limitations has run out for the charge, plus it is part of the argument that led up to the killing of Frank Smith. It is very much relevant in this case." Ric argued.

"Sit down counselor. The word rape will be removed from your question Mr. Lansing." Judge Cooper ordered.

Ric turned towards Zander and asked again. "Was the affair consensual?"

Zander looked up at the judge for approval to answer. "No it was not. And Frank was furious with Michael for taking advantage of my mother."

"And how long before this argument did this non consensual affair happen?" Ric asked and noticed Zander's eyes as he asked the question, knowing his answer would shock Sonny right out of his shoes.

"About 8 years prior to the night Frank died."

"8 years? Huh? Would it be a pretty good assumption that you Zander Smith were a result of that non consensual affair between Michael Corinthos and Frank's wife?"

Zander sat in the witness box, his eyes locked onto Sonny's, he wanted to see the reaction to the man who was his father. "Yes it would be, Mr. Lansing."

Those sitting in the courtroom gasped and whispers could be heard from the back of the courtroom. Sonny did react in any way to Zander's revelation. Victoria though gave her client a good long look.

"What happened next?" Ric asked after the courtroom got silent once again.

"Frank threatened Michael and told him that he would pay for his betrayal. I saw Frank pull the gun out of his desk drawer and point it at Michael. Michael then pulled his gun and pointed it at Frank. He told Frank that he wouldn't be paying for his crimes, that Frank would." Zander replied.

"And then what happened?"

"Then Michael shot Frank before Frank could shoot him." Zander startled as the sound of a gunshot went off in his head.

"Thank you, Zander. No further questions. You're witness." Ric replied as he passed Victoria and sat down at the table with Alexis.

Victoria rose from her seat and buttoned her jacket. Sonny staring directly at Zander still in the witness box. Victoria approached the stand with a legal pad in her hand.

"Wow, this must of been very traumatic for you, Mr. Smith, being only 8 years old at the time. Why didn't you come forward about this alleged crime till now?" Victoria asked.

"I didn't come forward about this till now, because I didn't remember till now." Zander answered as his eyes locked on Emily sitting in the front row. Her smile encouraging him.

"If I may ask, Mr. Smith .. what kind of business are you in?"

"Objection, your honor. Mr. Smith's business is not relevant to this case." Ric objected as he stood up from his seat.

"It certainly is your Honor. Goes to credibility and character of this witness." Victoria replied.

"I'll allow it. Mr. Smith answer the counselor's question."

Zander cleared his throat and looked towards Alexis and Ric for an okay to answer Victoria's line of questioning. Alexis nodded it was okay to answer. Being that Ric was the DA in this case, Alexis had agreed to become Zander's attorney on record.

"I'm in the import and export business." Zander replied with hestitation.

"Oh so you're following in your father's footsteps?" Victoria asked. Zander knew where she was going with these questions and hesitated to play along.

"After Frank died, my uncle took over my father's company. Until a few years ago, after he died, I inherited the company and all it's holdings."

"Have you ever been arrested, Mr. Smith?" Victoria shot back.

"Your Honor, where is this going? Zander Smith is not on trial here." Ric got up from his seat and question trying to save Zander from the line of questioning from Victoria.

"Move it along, counselor." Judge Cooper ordered.

"Isn't it true that DA Ric Lansing is your brother?" Victoria asked as she moved off the topic of Zander's business.

"Yes it's true. He's my half brother." Zander replied.

"Half brother? Your mother is Ric's mother, isn't that right?"

"Yes that's right. He's 12 years old then I am."

"And where was he the night Frank Smith was shot?" Victoria asked glaring at Ric.

"He was at boarding school. He wasn't home much, just summer vacations." Zander quickly replied wondering where she was going with this.

"So Ric wasn't in the house that night?"

"No he wasn't." Zander locked his eyes on Ric and gave him a look of confusion.

"Are you sure?"

"Your Honor, I think it was established that I was not in the house that night, it's been asked and answered." Ric spoke up.

"He's right counselor. You asked, and the witness answered. Any other questions for this witness?" Judge Cooper asked from the bench.

Victoria flipped through some paperwork that laid on the table, Sonny's eyes never leaving his focus on Zander.

"Yes your Honor I do. Are we to believe that Mr. Corinthos is your biological father?" she asked and Zander stiffened in his seat.

"Yes that's right." Zander replied glaring at Sonny.

"So this would mean you will be testifying against your own father?" she asked hoping to spark something inside the witness to make it apparent there are old wounds left open.

Zander took a deep breath before answering. He knew what she was up to and wasn't going to let her get the better of him to blow the case against Sonny.

"Sonny Corinthos killed a man 15 years ago, he needs to be punished for the crime. It doesn't matter who is, Frank Smith was the only father I knew and that man killed him!"

Zander's answer surprised her, she was expecting an outburst from him, but he kept calm and answered her question directly with no hesitation.

"No further questions." Victoria said in defeat and took her seat.

"You may step down, Mr. Smtih. Court will adjourn while it deliberates on the case at hand." Judge Cooper replied with the stroke of his gavel.

Zander stepped down from the witness box and walked in a bee line to Emily. She stood up and greeted him with a loving embrace. "You did great up there, I am so proud of you." she replied as he held onto her tightly.

Now came the waiting, waiting for the judge to come back with his decision, Zander hoping there was enough to indict Sonny for the murder of his father.


	31. Chapter 31

_As Zander stood with Emily talking with Alexis and Ric, he could feel Sonny's eyes piercing through him. His attorney came over to the table and congratulated Ric on a job well done. Ric accepted her hand and shook it graciously. Sonny got up from his chair and rubbed against Zander as he passed him on the way out of the courtroom. Zander glared in Sonny's direction as he walked out the door._

"I can't believe him. He now knows that he is my father and still has no words for me." Zander said angered by Sonny's demeanor towards him.

"You weren't expecting fatherly love from Sonny, were you?" Ric replied as he put some papers back in his briefcase.

"No but I was expecting some acknowledgement to the fact that he's my father." 

"Come on, let's go grab some lunch at Kelly's, this might take a while for the Grand Jury to re-conveen." Alexis suggested as she passed behind Ric and headed towards the double doors of the courtroom.

"I want to call my parents first and check on Devon." Emily said as she and Zander followed Alexis out into the hallway, Ric bringing up the rear as he grabbed his briefcase from the table and followed.

Emily called her parents and checked on Devon as Alexis and Zander along with Ric talked amongst themselves for a few minutes till she finished her conversation on the phone. Zander gave her a look of concern when she re-joined them.

"He's fine. Alice is reading him his favorite story." Emily smiled and the four of them walked out of the courthouse onto the front steps and noticed the media frenzy that was gathering at the bottom of the cement stairs. Ric led the way around the reporters and the rest followed quietly not wanting to bring attention to themselves as they bypassed the chaos that was apparently waiting for them.

As they walked into Kelly's, Emily noticed Elizabeth at the counter and excused herself from the group to go and talk with her friend.

"Hey." Emily said as she came up behind Elizabeth.

"Hey. Big day in court for you guys, so I hear." Elizabeth replied as she glanced over to the table that occupied Zander, Alexis, and Ric.

"How's Jason?" Emily asked concerned for her brother and trying to avoid the conversation about Sonny and Zander.

"He's doing fine. It's going to take some time till he's 100 percent but he's getting along just fine. He misses you, you know."

"I know, and I miss him too. I will make a point of it to call him, it's just that with all that's going on right now .. well, you know." Emily replied she disappointed in herself for not taking the time to keep in touch with her brother.

"I know and Jason understands, I'm sure. I gotta get back to the penthouse, I don't like to leave him alone for too long." Elizabeth answered as she grabbed the take out food she ordered in her hand.

"Okay, well tell Jason that I'll call him, and soon." Emily reminded Elizabeth before she walked out the door of the diner. Emily re-joined Zander at the table.

Penny came shortly and took their lunch orders. She poured some coffee in the cups that were on the table for them while they waited for their food. Emily noticed the looks exchanged between Ric and Alexis and began to wonder just how close they really were getting.

"So what's really going on between the two of you?" she asked bluntly.

Alexis's eyes widened at Emily's boldness and looked at Ric as he shrugged off the question asked. "There's nothing going on, why would you ask that?" Alexis replied wondering herself where the question came from. She didn't think it was so obvious that there was more to the courtroom antics between them.

Ric snickered at the thought of he and Alexis becoming more then what they already were, which was nothing more then colleagues.

"And what are you smirking about? There isn't anything going on between us." Alexis repeated.

"I was just thinking of the thought of us together, you know that way." he chuckled. "It's a ridiculous idea." he added as Alexis folded her arms in front of her.

"You got that right, utterly ridiculous." she agreed.

"Uh huh." Emily smiled at the two of them, still thinking there was more to them then they were letting on.

The four of them sat and ate lunch together, they had a few hours to fill, Ric figured. The Grand Jury could take a while to return their decision, so they spent their time at the diner. As they finished up, the ringing of Ric's cell phone could be heard from his jacket pocket. He reached in and flipped it open to answer it.

"Okay, we'll be right there." he said then flipped it close again. "The Grand Jury is re-conveening in 20 minutes." he added before taking on last sip of his coffee. He reached into his pocket and pulled out enough bills to pay for lunch and they all walked out of the diner together.

As they walked into the front door of the courthouse, Zander asked .."What are the chances we'll get the decision we want?"

"I think the chances are pretty good, Zander. With your testimony and the circumstantial evidence we submitted, I think we have a good chance of a victory." Ric replied as the four of them walked down the hallway towards the courtroom.

Ric opened the door to the courtroom and they all filed in and took their seats. Alexis and Ric at the prosecution table and Zander with Emily sat behind them in the first row. Emily latched on to Zander's hand for support and he squeezed it to thank her. She smiled and leaned into him, placing her head on his shoulder. "It's going to be alright." he said before the bailiff appeared from the side door.

Sonny and his attorney appeared in the back of the courtroom and took their seats at the opposing table. Victoria looked over at Ric and Alexis and then sat down in her seat, seemingly nervous for her client.

"All rise. Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Cooper presiding." the bailiff announced as Judge Cooper emerged from the side door and took his seat on the bench. Once he was seated everyone else sat down, and he opened up his court by the stroke of the gavel.

Zander's insides twisted and turned with worry that Sonny would get off once again for killing his father. He felt Emily's hand laced with his, and he knew that whatever happened in the courtroom that day, he would always have her love and she would always be there for him.

"We have re-conveened here in this courtroom because the Grand Jury has reached their decision in the case against Mr. Sonny Corinthos." Judge Cooper said as he unfolded the piece of paper in front of him. "The Grand Jury has found sufficient evidence for the prosecution to proceed with charges against Mr. Corinthos for murder in the first degree."

Rejoice from the prosecution side of the courtroom could be heard and they were quieted by Judge Cooper.

"Being that this case will be taking some time out of the docket calendar, we will begin this trial in 3 weeks from tomorrow. I'm sure all of you will be able to make it .... and counselors, please come prepared for court." the judge continued as Victoria stood up from her chair.

"There is a matter of bail, your Honor." she stated.

"Well, why don't we skip the formalities, counselor. We will settle bail right here and now."

"Your Honor, the prosecution wishes to have on record that we are objecting to bail in this case. Mr. Corinthos certainly should be considered a flight risk, he has the means and all his assets at his disposal. The prosecution recommends no bail and he be remanded to county lockup till trial." Ric spoke up.

"Your Honor, Mr. Corinthos has family ties to the community, he has a flourishing business he is a part of and he has a family waiting at home for him. Mr. Corinthos is no more of a flight risk then you or I." Victoria argued.

"Ultimately this is my decision, counselors. And I have read over Mr. Corinthos's file and have taken notice to his means and I also do believe him to be a flight risk and if I may add a threat to his new found family." Judge Cooper replied as Ric turned and looked at Zander and Emily with a smile.

"With that said, I do concur that Mr. Corinthos should be remanded to the county lock up till trial."

"Your Honor, if I may ..... If Mr. Corinthos is to be jailed till trial, we would like to suggest he be kept at the jail in the basement of the PCPD. My client would be more comfortable close to his family then 50 miles away at the county prison." Victoria replied, still pleading Sonny's case.

Judge Cooper sat and pondered the request from the defense. "Considering Mr. Corinthos's business and his connections here in Port Charles, I have to deny your request, counselor. Mr. Corinthos will spend the next three weeks in the county prison till trial."

"Your Honor, at least give Mr. Corinthos some time to get his affairs in order before leaving." Victoria replied desperately pleading with the judge to see Sonny's side of things.

"Your Honor, the State objects to the defense's request. Giving Mr. Corinthos the time to get his affairs in order would be giving him time to plan his next move to flee this jurisdiction." Ric spoke up once again objecting to Victoria's request on behalf of her client.

"Mr. Corinthos has one hour and it will be supervised by an officer of this court. After that, he will be taken to the PCPD and processed and then taken to the county jail to serve out the 3 weeks." the judge ordered and slammed down his gavel after his ruling.

Zander exhaled a sigh of relief, at least for 3 weeks, Sonny would be off the streets and away from Emily and Devon. Though still not letting his guard down, because knowing Sonny, he had plans for Zander and his family.


	32. Chapter 32

_Sonny stormed into the penthouse, his anger could be seen by everyone. Victoria and the officer that was assigned to Sonny followed him into the apartment._

"You have an hour Sonny, you better use the time wisely. This tantrum is not helping anything, you know that." Victoria said as Carly heard the commotion downstairs and came running down the stairs.

"What is going on down here?! There are children sleeping upstairs." she said as she saw Sonny outraged about something.

"What's going on down here is that Zander has sent me to the county jail for 3 weeks, that's what's going on!" Sonny shouted.

Carly got worried, Sonny would never last 3 weeks in a jail cell, his claustrophobia would get him first. She tried to calm him down, but nothing seemed to work. He was furious and the only thing she could do was to let him go, it was dangerous to stop him.

"So ... what? They're going to take you right away?" Carly asked when she noticed the officer standing by the door.

"Yes, Sonny has one hour, and we were lucky to get that." Victoria said as she stood holding her attache case in her hands.

"Should we call Jason or something?" Carly said as she went to the phone ready to pick it up.

"No, I'm sure Jason's heard already, it's all over the news. He knows what to do." Sonny replied as he headed for the stairs.

"Where are you going?" the officer asked when he saw Sonny heading up the stairs.

"I'm going to say goodbye to my children. Is that okay with you?" Sonny snapped back.

The office took one step back and left Sonny go up the stairs and he disappeared into the darkness. Carly excused herself and followed her husband, making sure he was alright. Victoria and the officer waited patiently in the living room for Sonny, while he and Carly said their goodbyes in private.

They emerged from upstairs and he kissed her goodbye. The officer handcuffed Sonny and opened the door to leave. Carly stood watching him go and her eyes filled with tears as Victoria looked at her with a disappointed look.

"I'm so sorry, Carly. I'm going to do everything I can to get him out." Victoria followed the officer out the door and to the elevator.

Jason stood at the door to his penthouse watching as they stepped onto the elevator and the doors closed. As soon as they did, he walked over to the penthouse to check on Carly.

When she saw Jason standing in the doorway, she ran to him and fell into his arms. "Jason ... what are we going to do?" she cried, her tears moistened his black tee shirt as he held her against him, trying to comfort her the best he could.

"We're not going to do anything. There isn't anything we can do. Sonny's attorney I'm sure has her own plans set into motion and I have mine." he replied as he stood there with her in the middle of the living room.

Victoria and the officer escorted Sonny into the squad room of the PCPD, and Ric was waiting for them. A grin came over Ric's face when he saw Sonny walk into the room in handcuffs. There was no snickering or smirking coming from him now, just a blank stare.

"Take Mr. Corinthos down to booking and get him processed. He'll have to spend a few hours in lock up till the wagon arrives to take him to the county prison." Ric instructed as the officer did what he was told.

"You know that 3 weeks in the county prison will kill him, right?" Victoria said as she approached Ric.

"And do you know, that I don't much care. What he did to my mother was inexcusable and what he did to Zander's father was unforgivable. He deserves to be punished for his crimes."

"Well, I am sorry about all of that, it must of been difficult for your brother and for you ..." her words drifted off as she noticed the extremely handsome man she was talking to.

"Thank you, but that doesn't make up for what your client did to my family, counselor."

"I know, and I'm sure this case opened up alot of old wounds for both you and your brother." she replied as she tucked a few strands of her hair behind her ear.

"Yes this is a very long time coming for Zander and I ... putting Sonny away for these crimes has almost been worth the wait." he smirked.

Zander and Emily arrived back at the cabin with Devon, and Marcus was given his orders before he left to drive back to town. Zander walked Emily and Devon to the front door and unlocked it with his key. He escorted her inside and took Devon from her arms as she set down the bag she had draped over her shoulder.

It was getting late and it was time for Devon to go to bed. She took him from Zander and walked up the stairs to the nursery, while Zander sat down on the couch.

Zander laid down on the couch and stretched out his entire body. His nightmare was finally over, at least for a while. He was sure he would have to testify again at the trial. He heard Emily come down the stairs and made room for her on the couch with him. She removed her shoes and laid down next to him.

He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the back of her neck. "Thank you ..." he said and she turned into him.

"For what?" she replied as her hand smoothed back his coal black hair.

"Thank you for believing in me and for being my rock through all of this." he replied.

She caressed his face with her hand and smiled. "You don't ever have to thank me, Zander ... you know I would do anything for you because I love you."

He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. The kiss lingered and left her wanting more when it was released. She turned herself outward, her back laying against him and she snuggled close, her body fitting perfectly against his curves.

He leaned in and whispered to her ... "I love you too...."


	33. Chapter 33

_Even though Jason had been laid up from the shooting for weeks now, he was still on top of things that were going on in Port Charles, and what was happening with Zander and Emily. He wasn't happy at all about Sonny going to the county jail for 3 weeks till the trial and had his own plan ready to go into motion on his order. The only problem Jason had with his plans, was his sister getting caught in the crossfire._

Elizabeth had gone shopping, like every Friday before. While she was out, he would take the first step in his plan, and that was finding where Zander had taken his family. Jason called a few of his contacts to see what he could find out about Zander's whereabouts, and he finally got a hit amongst a few of the misses.

"I don't want you do to anything to him, you understand me? My sister is with him and I don't want her hurt. Just follow him and his driver Marcus. I want to know where Zander goes on a daily basis, if anywhere." Jason flipped closed his cell phone wondering if he should pay his sister a visit.

He grabbed his jacket and his keys before heading for the door to leave. As he opened up the penthouse door, he found Emily on the other side ready to knock.

"Hi." she said as his momentum almost pushed him into her.

"Hi." he replied as he invited her inside.

"I know I shouldn't be here, Jase. But I had to see you. Is Elizabeth home?"

"No, she went on her regular Friday shopping ritual."

"Oh, good. I came to see you about Zander."

Jason wondered what she had swirling around in her mind. He closed the door and walked towards her. "What about?" he asked as he showed her a seat on the sofa.

"I want you to promise me, Jason, that you won't come after Zander."

Jason taken back by her request. "You know I can't promise you something like, Em." he replied, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"Look, I know things between you and Zander are to say the least .. strained. But can't you do this for me, Jase. At least till this trial mess is over with."

"Em, your husband sent my best friend and partner to prison and he's going to testify at Sonny's trial! How can I not retaliate?" Jason stood up and walked away from her.

"I know, but Sonny is Zander's father, how would Sonny feel if you hurt his child, Jason?!" she threw the only card she had left at him, hoping for some sympathy.

"Don't you dare use that with me Em! Zander is not the victim here!" he snapped back.

"How can you say that, Jason .. of course he is! He's spent years of his life trying to forget all the hurt and pain that Sonny and Frank caused him, and now that the secrets are out, he's still living the nightmare! Zander is so the victim here!" she shouted back at her brother.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Em. I'm not that unfeeling for Zander's pain and hurt but he's putting Carly and her children through their own nightmare, they have lost Sonny for God knows how long! How are they suppose to deal with this situation?" Jason asked as Emily got up from her seat and went to him.

"I know this is a bad situation for everyone involved. And I am sorry that Carly and her boys have to endure it as well, but dammit Jason, can't you just see passed it and let it go. Stop it before it gets way out of hand and someone else gets hurt!" Emily replied hoping she was making some sense to Jason.

"Look, I can't guarantee anything ... our lives don't come with guarantees or promises." he replied as she cracked a smile.

"Thank you." she replied as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"You be sure to tell your husband, that after this is all over, it's back to business and then those promises are null and void." he threatened.

Emily walked towards the door, feeling a little better then when she had arrived. "I'll tell him." she smiled as he opened the door for her and she stepped out into the hallway.

"I'll tell Elizabeth you stopped by." he said before saying goodbye to Emily and closing the door.

Emily stepped onto the elevator and pushed the button to go down, Marcus was waiting for her in the parking garage to take her back to the cabin. But she thought before she'd go back, she do a little shopping while she was in town. She quickly called Zander and left him know that she was going to shop for a little while and that she'd be back before dark.

The elevator came to a stop on the parking garage floor, and the doors opened up for her. She stepped out and noticed the limo was parked there waiting, but she didn't see Marcus. She called for him a few times, but he didn't answer. As she walked around the car she got the uneasy feeling she was being watched and it scared her considerably. She quickly became aware of her surroundings and reached inside her bag for her cell phone. When she flipped it open she realized she had no service inside the garage and it did her no good to call Zander.

She reached the back end of the limo and the back door flew open. It startled her so, she jumped back and heard a voice from inside demanding her to get in the car. Her heart began to race faster and faster and she froze where she stood, her feet firmly planted to the cement floor. Her eyes widened when the person the voice was attached to emerged from the back seat of the limo.

"I think it would be in your best interest to get inside the car, Mrs. Smith." the tall and distinguished man said as he held the door open for her.

"I'm not going anywhere till you tell me who you are and what this is all about?!" she demanded as the man scowled at her.

The man pulled a 9mm from the back of his waistband and pointed it at her discreetly. "Now, I don't think you would like what your other option is." he replied with no emotion.

She slowly walked around the door and got in as she was told. "What did you too Marcus?" she asked as she sat down in the back seat with the stranger.

The stranger ignored her question as he closed the door, still holding on to his gun and pointing directly at Emily. "All I want to do is talk with you, Mrs. Smith. There's no reason to be alarmed."

"No reason to be alarmed? You are pointing a loaded weapon in my direction and forced me inside this car with you, and I don't even know who you are or what you want!"

The stranger sat back against the cushion of the seat and laid the gun on the seat beside him. Her eyes watched as he carefully laid his hand on top of the weapon, though not in his hand anymore, it still was very much threatening.

"So who are you and what do you want from me?" she asked again as the stranger stared at her, he was like studying her every feature making sure he remembered every inch.

"My name is Damien Smith and I want you to take me to see my nephew."


	34. Chapter 34

_"You didn't come here to hurt him, did you?" Emily asked now afraid for her husband's life._

"Of course not. I came to help him, Mrs. Smith. It's Emily isn't it?" Damien replied as he leaned forward and laid his hand on her knee.

She pulled herself from his hand quickly. "Yes it is, and I wish you didn't do that." just the thought of being in the car with him made her nervous and afraid. He may have been Zander's uncle but it didn't give him the permission to make advances like he did.

"I'm sorry, it isn't my intention to make you afraid, Emily. I just wanted for you to take me to see Zander. I had exhausted all my avenues to find him, so when I saw you come to town ... well, I thought you'd be able to help me." he explained as she heard the driver's side door open and Marcus slip in the driver's seat.

"Marcus are you okay?" she called to him keeping her eyes focused on the man who sat before her.

"Yes, maam, I'm fine. Are you okay?" he asked genuinely concerned for her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We can go home now." she replied and instructed Marcus to drive back to the cabin.

"But ... " Marcus hesitated and began to question her instructions.

"It's okay Marcus, I'll call Zander once we're out of the parking garage, I'm getting no service whatsoever right now."

Marcus started the car, and drove out into the traffic of main street, and Emily pulled her cell phone from her bag. She hadn't realized that she left the phone on and it quickly dialed the last number she had called, Zander was already on the other end listening and knew about Damien before she realized he was there.

"Don't talk, just listen." Zander instructed. "Tell Marcus to take you the warehouse, he'll know which one and tell him that I am there waiting for him to pick me up." he continued.

Zander had already set a plan into motion to rid him of his uncle and the problems that were about to arise. He had men already set at the warehouse, while hanging on with Emily's cell phone, Zander used the phone in the cabin to call who he needed to, for his men to be waiting at the warehouse. He knew his uncle was about to take everything he worked so hard to keep and he wasn't about to let it happen. He couldn't let Damien take everything from him, though worried and afraid for his wife, he made sure his men knew to do what they needed to keep her safe. She was to be safe at all costs.

Emily did what she was told before they got too far towards the end of town. "Marcus ... you are to take us to the warehouse, Zander is there, he had to go in to meet some suppliers. He asked if you could bring his uncle there instead." she lied hoping Marcus understood his instructions correctly from Zander.

"That's good, baby. Now when you get here, I don't want you to get out of the car. When Marcus gets out and opens up the back door, you let Damien out first and Marcus will close the door, leaving you inside. You understand?" Zander instructed her.

"Yeah I do. We'll see you in a few minutes." she flipped closed her phone and knew there were steps being taken at this moment to ensure her safety, but she was still afraid and worried about the ambush they were about to drive into.

Marcus pulled the limo up to the back of the warehouse and stopped the car. He got out and came to the back door and opened it, Damien wasn't suspecting a thing as he climbed from the back seat and Marcus closed the door quickly leaving Emily inside away from harm. When the it closed, the doors locked automatically, a safety feature Zander had installed when he bought it. Marcus heard the doors lock and then walked Damien into the warehouse without questions.

Emily sat inside the limo, and she jumped in her seat startled when the shots rang out. A few seconds later the back door opened and a few of her husband's men got in. Marcus climbed in the driver's seat and started the limo. "Let's go Marcus .... now!" one of the men ordered from the back seat as Emily sat frozen in her seat but filled with worry and concern about Zander. "We have to get Mrs. Smith back to the safe house!" he added as the limo pulled away in a hurry, leaving tar from the tires on the pavement.

"Where's Zander? Please tell me he's back at the cabin!" she yelled in a panic worried about her husband.

"He's fine .... we're taking you too him now." Gregory said as he put his weapon back in it the holster he was wearing.

"And Damien?" she not sure she wanted to know what happened to him but asked.

Neither of the men answered her and she figured it was for the best, she already knew what had happened to the man, the look on their faces was enough.

Gregory's cell phone rang as the limo raced through the city streets. He flipped it open and answered it. "Yes sir, all taken care of. Yes sir, she's right here." he said and handed the cell phone to Emily.

"Zander?"

"Emily, are you alright?" he asked concerned for her.

"Yeah I'm fine, I was worried about you ..." her words drifted off as the night of the shooting months prior flashed in her mind.

"I'm fine, sweetheart. The boys are going to take good care of you." he said calmingly.

"Oh my God, Zander, I was so scared. Damien just came out of nowhere, he was in the car, Zander! I didn't know what else to do but to do what he said." she replied frantic, tears began to fill her eyes as she told her husband about what had happened.

Emily sniffled back the tears and tried to calm herself down, she wanted to be the strong wife who could handle such situations, but her fear got the better of her.

"I know but your safe now, and the boys are going to bring you back to the cabin."

Emily wiped the tears from her eyes and an "I love you" passed across her lips before she handed the phone back to Gregory. She sank deep into the back seat of the limo, still shaken from what had happened.

"Gregory, I want you to take good care of her till you get here, you got that! She's upset and scared .... I want you to do all you can to make the ride up here comfortable for her." Zander instructed him.

"Yes sir, don't worry, we'll take good care of her." Gregory replied before closing his phone and slipping it back into his jacket pocket. He wasn't quite sure what he could do to curb Emily's fears but he would do what he was told.

The limo turned onto the dirt road that led back to the cabin, the hour drive seemed like an eternity for Emily. Marcus pulled the limo up in front of the house and Gregory opened the door and stepped out. He helped Emily from the back seat as Zander came out onto the front porch. Emily's eyes locked on him standing there and she ran towards him thankful they both were alright and she was back with him again.

Zander came down the steps of the cabin and met her with an embrace. She fell into him and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Tears filled her eyes once more as she held onto him, not wanting to let him go. His hands caressed her back as he held her against him, trying to comfort her and letting her know she was safe now. Gregory, Thomas and Marcus stood and watched the tearful reunion and waited for their orders from Zander.

"Shhhh .. it's okay, baby." his voice soothing to her as he whispered the words to her.

He pulled away from her for a brief moment to give the boys instructions, but she lingered beside him not wanting him to leave her.

"I want you to go back to town and make sure there is nothing left to find of my uncle! You got that?!" Zander barked with Emily still with him.

The three men nodded in acknowledgement of their orders and got back into the limo. They headed back to town like they were told as Zander and Emily walked back to the cabin, she still shaken. His arm wrapped around her, and helped her up the steps and into the house.

Zander's cell phone rang as he helped his wife to the couch. "Dammit, now what?" he replied as he flipped open the phone and answered it.

"Sir ... It's Cory at the warehouse .. we have a problem."


	35. Chapter 35

_"I don't want to hear that Cory .. what's the problem?" Zander asked as he walked into the other room to talk business._

"Those containers that came in this morning are not filled with all of the product, some is missing." Cory replied.

"How much is missing, this time?!" Zander replied sternly.

"Enough not to make the quota and certainly enough to cause concern, sir." This was not what Zander wanted to hear, his mind filling with ideas of who would steal from his warehouse and be bold enough to do so.

"Dammit .. this is the third shipment in 6 months that we've had problems with!" Anger consumed him as he began to pace the floor of the kitchen.

"What do you want me to do about it?" Cory asked waiting for more instructions

"I'll take care of this, Cory. Just let it sit for now. Gregory, Thomas and Marcus are on their way back to the warehouse on Pier 12 to clean up a mess that was made earlier, I want you to go meet them and assist them with that. Keep me posted." Zander ordered and flipped closed the phone in disgust with the situation.

He walked back into the living with purpose and noticed Emily had laid down and fallen asleep while waiting for him. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her up the stairs to the bedroom. As he laid her down on the bed, she sighed. Sleep was probably the best thing for her, right now. He covered her with the blanket that laid on the edge of the bed and kissed her cheek softly. He walked towards the door and turned off the light. He closed the door quietly and walked down the hall to check on Devon. His naps in the afternoon were usually a few hours and he had just put him down before all hell had broken loose at the warehouse. Devon slept peacefully in his crib and Zander closed the door, leaving it ajar slightly. He walked quietly down the hall and then down the stairs. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone once more. He needed to find out who was stealing from him, though he had an idea, but he had hoped he was wrong for Emily's sake.

Zander made a few phone calls to some of his contacts. The shooting that had almost taken his life a few months ago was still being investigated, though the police didn't have any new leads, the trail was going cold and it was becoming more and more clear that he and Jason would soon find themselves in alot more trouble then either of them bargained for, he suspected. His thoughts went immediately to Jason as the culprit of his missing product. Jason would certainly be bold enough to come into the his warehouse and he would have the means to make the product disappear into the streets and not be found again.

Zander deep in thought was startled back as his cell phone rang again. He flipped it open and answered it hoping it was better news this time.

"Sir, it's Thomas. It's been taken care of." Zander heard from the other end of the line.

"Good. Now I want you and Gregory to find out what the hell happened to the rest of that shipment that came in this morning! You can start with Jason Morgan!" Zander instructed his men before closing his phone.

Thomas flipped closed his cell phone and told Gregory what he had been instructed to do. The two of them left the warehouse knowing what needed to be done to get the answers their boss was looking for. As they walked down the docks on a mission, the person they were looking for was standing a short a distance from them. The two men stayed back and just watched as Jason held a conversation with someone else he was with.

Jason handed an envelope to the stranger and the stranger took it. He shoved the overly stuffed envelope in the pocket of his leather jacket and walked off. Jason left standing alone on the docks, Thomas and Gregory approached him.

"So now, Zander sends his goons ... where's the boss man himself?" Jason asked as the two men walked up on him.

"The boss man is none of your concern Morgan." Gregory snapped back.

Jason didn't waste his time on pleasantries and pulled his 9mm from the back of his waist band as the two men came closer.

"There is no need for the weapon, Morgan. We didn't come here to hurt you. Just to talk." Thomas replied as Jason held the gun in his hand, steady.

Jason's glared at the two men, not yet ready to put his weapon away, held it tight in his hand. His finger laid gently against the trigger, ready to shot if he needed to. The two men were calm, not showing fear at any time while standing in front of Jason with his gun pointed at them.

"What does your boss want to know?" Jason asked as Thomas walked around him to the other side.

"The boss wants to know where his shipments have gone to, Morgan." Gregory stated as he didn't back down, like Jason expected him to.

"Oh so Zander thinks I took them? And he sent the two of you to make me confess?" Jason laughed at Zander's intentions.

Thomas and Gregory stood their ground with Jason, they weren't going anywhere till they had the answers they had come for. Jason wasn't about to confess to Zander's men, he had no intention to give them what they had come for. He put his piece back in his waistband and began to walk away from the two men.

"We aren't finished with you yet, Morgan." Thomas said as he stepped towards Jason.

"Yes, I believe we are." Jason replied as he quickly pulled his piece again on the two men. "I have nothing left to say. And you can go back and tell your boss whatever you like, but I am not the one who took his product." Jason added as he backed away from the men, his gun still pointed in their direction.

Jason disappeared into the darkness and Zander's men stood on the docks alone. Thomas flipped open his cell phone and called Zander to give him a report as to what just happened.

"Sir, Morgan's not cooperating. He's not giving us anything." Thomas said as he reached his boss.

Zander sighed. He knew it would come down to this, he was just avoiding the inevitable. "You know what to do to Morgan, he's stolen from me for the last time."

Emily was hidden in the shadows of the stairs as she heard Zander's orders and she cried out .... "Zander, noooo!"  



	36. Chapter 36

"Emily! .... " he was shocked to see her standing there listening. "Don't do anything yet, I'll call you back." he continued and flipped closed his cell phone.

"You're going to have Jason taken out, aren't you?" she said as she came down the stairs and rubbed up against him as she passed by. "He's my brother, Zander .. how could you do that to me?" she scolded her husband for even thinking such an awful thing.

"Emily, listen to me .. this is business, it has nothing to do with family relations." Zander tried to make her see that what he was doing was protecting what was his.

"Screw the business, Zander! This is personal and I can't believe you were ready to take out my brother without a second thought!" she hollered back at him in return.

"Wait a minute, Jason wouldn't take a second thought about taking me out! But you're okay with that!"

"No I'm not okay with that ... Jason promised not to touch you, Zander .... he promised me he wouldn't!" she cried and fell down into the cushions of the couch as she sat down. Her face buried into her hands and she leaned over her knees like in pain. Tears began to fall from her eyes and she began to cry, cry out of disgust, cry out of disappointment and sadness that this was happening to her family.

"Wait you saw Jason? When?" Zander asked as he went to her and sat down with her on the couch.

"This morning before Damien nabbed me in the parking garage. I was there to see Jason about you!" she snipped back as she brushed off his consoling and got up from her seat.

"When were you going to tell me this, Emily? You know with one phone call world war 3 could start between Jason and I!" he barked back.

"I'm sorry .. in all the chaos this morning I forgot to tell you, okay?!" Her forgetfulness could of cost her, her brother's life, or worse, her husbands. Guilt of not telling Zander overcame her.

"What did Jason have to say?" Zander asked.

"I convinced him not to come after you .. at least not till all this mess is over with Sonny."

"Well thank you for going to bat for me, Em .. but I think I can handle Jason!" he replied thinking now his reputation with Jason was damaged at least some by Em going to battle for him.

"You know I didn't only do it for you Zander, I did it for me and Devon too! I don't know what I would do if we lost you!" tears began to trickle down her cheeks once more. She almost did lose him, not too long ago and she was never going to go through that again, whether he liked it or not, she was going to protect him if she could.

He went to her and pulled her to him, she stood up and wrapped her arms around him as she cried against his chest. "I'm sorry, Zander. I guess being a mob wife I am not." she sniffled back the tears, her voice muffled against his chest.

He wrapped his hands around her cheeks and lifted up her chin, her eyes red and puffy from crying, he wiped the tears away with his thumbs. "Now you listen to me .. I don't ever want to hear you say that, okay. It took alot of guts to go to Jason this morning. That was a very bold thing to do and I thank you for going there on behalf. Em, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me, you know that and I don't know where I'd be without you. This life isn't easy and I never said it would be, but I will protect you and keep you safe the best way I know how, but you have to tell me where you're going so I can protect you from another Damien Smith. Okay?" he said as he cracked a smile hoping she understood that if she had told him she was going to see Jason, he would of been more on his guard to protect her and Damien may have never found her in the parking garage.

She understood and agree the next time she'd go into town she'd tell him and not leave herself unprotected like she had this morning with Damien. "Okay, I promise but you have to promise me something too, Zander." she replied.

"What's that?"

"You have to promise me not to go after Jason, he promised me he wouldn't come after you, now I want a promise from you that you won't go after him."

He didn't answer her and flipped open his cell phone and dialed. She watched him wondering what he was planning on doing now.

"Thomas .. leave Morgan alone." .... "Yeah you heard me, leave Morgan be."....."Yeah this is a direct order, I don't want Morgan touched, you got that." Zander flipped closed the cell phone and stuck back in his pocket.

Emily stood up from her seat and went to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "Thank you for calling off your plans ..." she said as he pulled her into him.

"No, thank you for making me realize just what's important..." his words drifted off as he couldn't help but think of the day he'd get his chance to take down Jason Morgan.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The hard rain pounded against the glass windows as the thunder rolled amidst the dark storm clouds, and Emily sat in the wooden rocker, rocking Devon back to sleep. The storm had kept him up and his cries could be heard throughout the house. She had tried everything with him to get him to go back to sleep, from bouncing to walking to singing and now rocking, nothing seemed to work, he was still crying and he was very sleepy. She heard footsteps upstairs and knew Devon had now waken up Zander. She sighed heavily as she saw him appear on the stairs.

"Is he okay? He's crying an awful lot, isn't he?" Zander asked as he came into the living room.

"He's just scared of the storm I guess. Nothing is working to get him back to sleep. Here maybe you have better luck then I did." she said as she handed Zander the scared and still screaming child.

This was the only part of parenthood Zander hated the most, a screaming child. And between he and Emily, Devon had a good set of lungs on him and he was using them to their fullest potential tonight. He started walking him around the room, bouncing Devon in his arms as he walked.

"I tried that already ...." Emily said as she watched Zander walk around the room. "It didn't work for me either." she added and got a smirk in return from Zander.

Every loud roll of thunder sparked another screaming episode from Devon. Zander pressed his soft lips to Devon's forehead to feel if the child had a fever, perhaps he was sick rather then just scared from the storm. Devon did feel a little warm, but he didn't think it was anything to be concerned about, the child had been crying and screaming for the last hour, he was bound to be perspired and warm. As Zander carried Devon around the room, Emily noticed that her son was rubbing his small hand against his left ear alot, it was a sure sign of ear infection.

She walked up to Zander and stopped him from walking. She pressed her lips against Devon's forehead and felt he was warm to the touch, she also noticed that his ear was cherry red. She became more alarmed that her child was sick after noticing the two main symptoms of an infection. She hadn't been a mother very long, but she knew the important things like when her child would be sick.

She took Devon from Zander and tried to calm him against her. "We have to get him to a doctor, Zander ... he's running a fever." she said as Zander checked Devon again.

Zander quickly turned and ran up the stairs to get Devon's blanket and Emily went to get her coat. Zander came down the stairs with a blanket in his arms and took Devon from Emily so she could put on her jacket. He handed Devon back to her and the blanket he covered his son up with. He grabbed his jacket and opened the door for them, turning off the lights as he closed the door. Marcus sat waiting in the driveway and pulled the car up to the front porch. Emily and Zander hurried to the car in the down pouring rain, she covering Devon the best she could as she raced to the limo. Zander opened up the door for her and she climbed in, Devon still wrapped in her arms. Zander climbed in behind her and closed the door.

"Get us to the ER at General Hospital as fast as you can, Marcus!" Zander instructed and Marcus nodded as he turned the car around quickly and drove out the long drive to the main highway.

It was about an hour drive from town, and Zander hoped they would get there in time. He didn't know much about child illnesses, but he knew enough to know that every second counts when dealing with child fevers.

As they sat in the back of the car with Devon, a little more calmer now then before, but still tugging at his ear, Zander called Monica and Alan to meet them at the hospital.

"Quartermaine residence .." the voice said as someone picked up the phone at the mansion.

"Alice .. It's Zander ... are Emily's parents there? It's an emergency..." he replied very much concerned about his child and hoping the only two doctors he trusted with his son were home.

"Yes they are .... hold on, let me go get them." Alice replied and set down the phone. She went to look for Drs. Quartermaine, and she hurried when she realized something must be terribly wrong for Zander to call so late.

She found Monica in the study working on some paperwork.

"Monica ... Zander's on the phone and he sounds really panicked. He says it's an emergency." Alice said as she entered the study and hurried towards Monica.

Monica picked up the phone that sat on the desk beside her. "Zander .. what's wrong? Is it Emily?" she asked now concerned for her daughter.

"No, it's Devon .... Emily thinks he has an ear infection and he's running a low fever. We are about 25 minutes from the hospital .. will you meet us there?" Zander replied as Monica heard Devon's cries the background.

"Alan and I will be right there .. we're on our way." Monica didn't even say goodbye, she hung up the phone and called out for Alan.

He came running from the other room and rushed into the study. "What's wrong?" he asked as she rushed passed him and latched onto his arm as she did.

"We have to get to the hospital, Emily and Zander are bringing in Devon, he's sick." Alan didn't ask questions but he did tell her he'd drive them there.

The rain still pouring down in buckets, Marcus drove as fast as he could trying to keep the car under control as they passed the city limits sign. "About 20 more minutes, sir ..." he said as they passed into the Port Charles limits.

Emily trying her best to keep the child comfortable, but she knew with an ear infection there wasn't much she could do to take the hurt away. She held him against her, he still wrapped in the blanket, she tried to bounce him gently in her arms. Marcus must of given the limo wings because it didn't take long before they were pulling up to the hospital's ER.

Marcus stopped the car and got out. He rushed to the back door and left Emily out, Zander climbed out the other side and the two of them raced in together.

Bobbie was on duty and was jotting down some notes on a clipboard when she heard Devon's screams as Zander and Emily rushed through the sliding double doors of the ER. Bobbie dropped what she was doing and went to see how she could help.

"We think he has an ear infection ...." Emily said as Bobbie guided her quickly along to one of the exam rooms, Zander following close behind.

"Well he definitely has a fever." Bobbie replied when she saw how flushed he was.

As they turned into an exam room, Monica and Alan rushed through the sliding double doors of the ER. They looked around frantically for Emily but didn't see her, but they did hear the screams of their grandchild. They followed Devon's cries and found Bobbie giving him an initial exam. Emily turned to see her parents standing inside the curtain and went to them.

"We got him here as quickly as we could." Emily said with a worried look on her face.

Alan wrapped his arm around her and tried to comfort his daughter. "He's going to be okay now, he's in good hands." he said as Bobbie looked up and smiled.

"How long has he been like this?" Bobbie asked as she took an shiny instrument and checked Devon's ears.

"He's been crying for over an hour and I just noticed the redness at his ear a little while ago, before we got here." Emily replied and then went to her husband's side as they watched over their child.

"Well, it's good you brought him in when you did. One can never be too careful with ear infections and fevers, especially in a child his age. We'll give him something for the pain in his ear and also for the fever." Bobbie explained as Emily reached down and caressed the back of Devon's head.

Bobbie left the room to go get the medication Devon needed and Monica and Alan stepped farther into the room. Emily still worried about Devon, as was Zander. Devon had never been sick like this before and it scared both of them. Monica noticed the scared look on their faces.

Emily heard Zander's cell phone ringing inside his jacket pocket. He looked down at Emily and saw in her eyes she didn't want him to leave her, that he needed to be there instead of doing business. He wrapped his arm around her and she leaned back into him. The ringing of the cell phone could be heard as the two of them watched over their son, Devon.


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter 38

The stormy summer night was the longest night of Zander and Emily's life, or so it seemed. Devon's fever broke a few hours after he had gotten the medication he needed and they were allowed to take him home the next morning.

The skies cleared for the beautiful sunshine, white puffy clouds could be seen in the blue sky for miles and it felt like a calmness had come over the city of Port Charles. Zander escorted Emily down to the limo which was waiting out in front of the hospital entrance. Marcus was waiting for them as he stood with the back seat door open. He helped Emily climb in and waited for Zander to follow her. Before Zander did so, he gave Marcus a few instructions.

"You will take her and Devon back to the cabin, but you will be dropping me off at the warehouse .... there's some business that I have to take care of."

Marcus nodded before Zander climbed in the back seat of the limo and he shut the door. There was still the matter of Zander's missing shipment to take care of, and thought since he was in town, he'd take care of it now. Marcus drove the warehouse as his boss instructed and stopped the limo in the alley behind the main building.

"Marcus is going to take you and Devon back to the cabin. I have some things to take care of here in town." Zander said to Emily and then leaned in and gave her a kiss.

"This is about last night's phone call, isn't it?" she asked before he got out.

He evaded her question with another kiss. "I'll be back as soon as I can." he replied as he got out of the car.

He closed the door behind him leaving Emily and his son inside. Marcus stood guard by the car as Zander walked to greet his other man, Thomas who was approaching.

"I want you to go with Marcus back to the house with Emily. I don't want her to be alone out there." Zander said concerned.

"Are you expecting something?" Thomas asked before getting in the limo.

"Let's just say I'm taking precautions. I'll have someone bring me back in an hour or so." Zander replied and Marcus opened the door for Thomas. He climbed in and sat next to Emily, Devon wrapped in the blanket in her arms. Emily wasn't expecting to have company on the ride back to the cabin, and it worried her that perhaps Zander thought she needed the extra protection.

"Something bad is going to happen, isn't it?" she asked Thomas as Marcus got behind the wheel and started to drive away. "That's why he sent you along with me ..." she continued.

"It's just an extra precaution, Emily. Nothing to be concerned about." Thomas replied trying to calm her fears the best he could without giving her too much information that she didn't need to know.

Zander walked into the warehouse with another man, Cory. He was Zander's General Manager, for the lack of a better word. Cory oversaw everything that came and went from the warehouse and knew the inner workings of all that happened there. Cory and Zander walked into the office and Zander took a seat behind his desk. Cory sat down in the chair after he closed the office door.

"So tell me about the partial shipment we have sitting here. What's missing, how much is missing, and who's responsible for taking it?!" Zander demanded to know.

"The best we can tell is, it was no amateur, this was a professional hit. And since Morgan isn't cooperating with us, we've run out of culprits. There isn't anyone else in Port Charles who would have enough balls to steal the large amount that was taken. Besides no one else would have the connections to make such a large amount disappear like it has. It has to be Morgan. He's seriously becoming an annoyance, sir."

"Yes I know he is, but I made some promises that I can't go back on, at least not yet. So Morgan still breaths till I say so. We just have to keep our eye on him for the time being. Which is why I want to heighten security around here and I'll be adding a guard on Emily at all times." Zander wanted to be sure his family was protected even if his gut instincts were wrong.

It was going to come to a head between him and Jason, he could feel it. The tension between the two organizations had been building for some time and after the explosion a month or so ago, it was becoming quite apparent that there would be more then just a shipment lost, soon enough.

"We have another shipment coming in at the end of the week that will fill what we lost with the first one. I'll be sure to have extra manpower here at the warehouse." Cory replied as Zander flipped through some paperwork that laid on the desk.

"Good and I want a 24 hour watch on this warehouse after it comes in. I don't want anything happening to it." Zander instructed as he looked down at his watch.

"Why don't you go home to your wife and son, sir? Gregory and I can handle things here." Cory suggested as he got up from his seat. "Randy can take you home." Cory added.

Zander got up from his seat and walked towards the door, passing Cory. "I want to take a look at that shipment first." Zander said as he walked out of the office and waited for Cory to follow.

Cory led the way to the very large containers that had arrived a few days earlier. He saw a few other men standing off in the distance and motioned for them to come and help him open the boxes so Zander could take a look for himself at what was missing.

Three big burly men approached and helped Cory open the containers that Zander wanted to see. Once opened, Zander sifted through the paper stringy packing in search of the product that was deep within the crate. Zander reached in with his hand, up to his elbows in packing and pulls from the crate a clear plastic package filled with white as snow powder. Cory pulls a pocketknife from his belt loop and stabs the bag with the tip, extracting some of the product from the bag as he removes the knife. He licks the knife with his tongue to taste the quality of the powder as the others look on and waited for his stamp of approval.

Zander walked away from his men once Cory nodded that the product was quality powder and the men nailed the crate shut once more. Zander put his hand to his head and massaged his forehead with his fingers as Cory approached him.

"Do you want to distribute the stuff?" Cory asked and Zander turned on his heel towards him.

"It's business as usual, Cory." is all Zander said as he began walking towards the enormous overhead door to leave.

Cory walked towards the others and called for Randy. "Take Zander back to his wife at the cabin." Cory slapped Randy on the shoulder as he passed. "And don't let him out of your sight till he's inside the house!" Cory hollered after Randy. Randy waved in acknowledgement and followed his boss out the door to the limo that was parked in the alley.

Zander looked down at his watch and noticed he had spent more time at the warehouse then he had expected to, so he used his cell phone and called Thomas to see if everything was okay at the cabin.

"I take it everything went smoothly getting Emily back?" he asked as Thomas answered.

"Yes it did, no problems here." Thomas replied.

"Good, Randy's driving me back now, I'll be there shortly." Zander closed his phone and put it back in his jacket pocket as Randy opened the back door of the car.

"Is everything alright, sir?" Randy asked noticing his boss looked drained.

Things were not fine with Zander, he had a bad feeling about things for a while now, he just couldn't shake it. He was hoping that the feeling would pass, like all the others before had. He sighed deeply as he lied to his guard ..."Things are just fine, Randy ....." With that, Randy closed the limo door and climbed in behind the wheel of the limo.

Zander wasn't sure which is was more worried about, the fact that at that very moment he had a couple hundred thousand dollars in powder in his warehouse, or that he had his wife and child at home waiting under guard for their protection. 

He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes to rest them. He was so completely drained from what had been happening over the past few weeks, he was surprised he knew his own name. He just hoped that the trial would be over soon and he could finally put the past behind him and concentrate on the present and what the future held for he and his family.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The alarm went off at 6:30am, like every morning before and Zander turned over and smacked the clock till the alarm stopped buzzing. He rubbed his face with his hands trying to revive himself from his restful sleep. The day had come he dreaded, Sonny's trial started this morning and he and Emily were to be there by 10. He turned over and watched her sleeping peacefully.

"Em .. baby..." he said softly as he caressed her arms to wake her.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek which aroused her some as she turned in towards him and groaned. "What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"It's 6:30 .. we have to be in court by 10, so get your tush in gear. Today is not the day to sleep in." he replied as he climbed from the bed and walked towards the bathroom.

She turned over and grabbed his pillow in her hands and pulled it to her. She curled up with it and dozed back to sleep. He emerged from the bathroom and noticed she was still in bed, curled into a ball with the pillow to comfort her. 

He walked towards the closet and opened the doors to see all the dark suits hanging on display. He picked out one of his black suits and a deep blue dress shirt to match. He walked with it in his hands over the bed and laid it down as he sat on the edge of the bed.

She began to stir as the alarm buzzed again after the 10 minute snooze had passed. She laid on her back and her eyes opened slowly, the sunshine was hard on her sensitive morning pupils as she protected her eyes with her hand.

"You're not wearing that are you?" she asked as she saw the black suit laying on the bed beside him.

"What's wrong with it? You know I only have 2 colors in my wardrobe." he cracked a smile.

She rolled her eyes and cracked a smile at his remark about his taste in clothes. He looked over his shoulder at her as she propped herself up against the head board and yawned.

"What are you wearing?" he questioned and she raised an eye brow.

"Clothes?" she snickered. "I don't know, maybe my red suit." she shrugged.

"Okay you wear the red suit and I'll wear the red shirt, satisfied?" he smirked and then went to the closet and picked out the red silk dress shirt.

"Okay .." she yawned and climbed from the bed. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door.

She opened the door and peered out. "Are you okay?" she asked. She was expecting him to be nervous about the trial but he didn't seem to be at all shaken up about what was going on today.

"Yeah I'm fine." he replied as he shoo'd her back into the bathroom.

He heard the water being drawn for the shower as the images of that night returned in his mind, just like a silent movie, he remembered more vividly the details of the shooting. His body jerked as the gun went off in his head and he tried to shake it off before she emerged after her quick shower.

She noticed he was a little shaky when she returned to the bedroom, he was a little uneasy on his feet as he walked towards the bathroom once more. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked as he steadied himself against the doorway. He shrugged off her question and went into the bathroom closing the door behind him.

She felt something had happened while she was out of the room, another vision she suspected. He had been having them more frequently since the hearing, but they were not consistent. The shooting of his father had haunted him for so long, she had hopes that after Sonny's trial, things would be easier for him and the nightmares would fade away.

Zander and Emily dropped off Devon at her parent's for the day, and arrived at the courthouse before 10. The doors of the courtroom stood open, as they walked across the hallway they were met by Ric. Zander didn't look at all relaxed by then, he was fidgety and Ric noticed.

Ric patted Zander on the back as the three of them walked into the courtroom together, as they walked down the aisle, Zander noticed Carly sitting in the first row behind the defense table. She didn't make eye contact with him and he thought it best not to stare in her direction. He and Emily took seats in the first row behind Ric and Alexis, who was already sitting at the prosecution table waiting.

Emily smiled as she saw the look between Ric and Alexis, she thought it was sweet how the two of them were with each other. She and Zander sat together and waited for his turn in the witness box. She trying to keep him relaxed as they listened to other witnesses that Ric had called for the prosecution.

Zander glanced over towards the defense table and caught Sonny's eye. Their eyes made a connection and Zander certainly didn't feel the love coming from his so-called father. Sonny may have been his biological father, but he truly was never going to be his dad. Frank Smith was all of those things to Zander while he was growing up. He felt the love from Frank and he spent time with Zander, even though he ran the biggest organization on the east coast, Frank still made time for him .... and Sonny took that all away from him.

Sonny's attorney finished with the witness and he existed the box. Ric stood up and looked over his shoulder at Zander sitting behind him.

"Mr. Lansing, call your next witness if you will." the judge announced and Ric buttoned his suit jacket.

Ric turned towards Zander and called his name .. "The prosecution calls, Zander Smith."


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Zander stood up from his seat and felt all the eyes in courtroom were now on him. He buttoned his suit jacket and walked to the witness box, and before he sat down, he unbuttoned it again. He noticed Alexis and Emily both smiling at him, trying to reassure him he was doing the right thing and he would be okay.

Ric walked towards him as he straightened out the crinkle in his suit jacket. Zander smirked when he noticed that Ric was still meticulous as he was when he was younger. Ric stood in front of him and paused a moment before asking his first question.

"Mr. Smith, would you please tell the court your relationship to the deceased?" 

"Frank Smith was my father." Zander replied, not giving away that he found out Sonny was truly his father. Frank was the only father he had known.

"And when Frank died, how old were you?" Ric questioned.

"I was 8 years old."

"At that age, a traumatic experience was difficult to handle, wasn't it?"

"Yes it was, very difficult." Zander replied and once again the images of that night flashed one by one in his mind.

"Please tell the court in your own words, what happened the night that Frank Smith died."

Zander sat straight in the chair and cleared his throat before he began telling his story. "It was after midnight, and I couldn't sleep, so I went downstairs to the kitchen to get a drink. I noticed that my father was in his study, the light was still on and it shone underneath the door. I went to the kitchen and got my drink. As I walked back to the stairs, I passed my father's study again. The door was ajar this time, and I heard voices arguing inside." Zander began and Ric interrupted his story with a question.

"Did you recognize these voices that were arguing?" Ric asked of his witness.

"The voices were my father Frank and his right hand man, Michael Corinthos." Zander replied and he glanced over to Sonny sitting at the defense table.

"For the record, Michael Corinthos is the defendant Sonny Corinthos." Ric stated and then let Zander continue his story.

"The argument ensued and shouting could be heard from inside the room. Frank threatened Michael, he had betrayed Frank and Frank told him that Michael knew what happened to those who betrayed him. Frank pulled a gun on Michael, and Michael then pulled his gun on Frank. Michael told Frank that Frank would be the one to pay and then Michael shot him." Zander finished his story and Ric picked it up with another question.

"Mr. Smith, what was the argument about?"

"The argument was about my mother and the affair Michael had with her 8 years prior." Zander replied knowing that this question was leading to his paternity.

"This act of Michael with your mother, was it consensual? Ric asked, making sure not to mention the word rape in his question.

"No it wasn't. When Frank found out about the details of the event, he was furious with Michael. Michael threw it in Frank's face that he wasn't my biological father and that infuriated him more to know that his wife had another man's child."

"Mr. Smith, are you the child of the non consensual act between Michael Corinthos and Frank's wife?" Ric asked.

"Yes .... I am." Zander stuttered the truth. "Michael Corinthos is my father." Zander's eyes drawn to Sonny looking for a reaction from him, but got none.

"Thank you Mr. Smith ... no more questions for this witness, your Honor." Ric finished his questioning of Zander and returned to his seat at the prosecution table.

Victoria stood from her seat and stepped towards Zander in the witness box. He had become more relaxed now that Ric's questioning was over, and Victoria noticed. She had hoped now that he was more relaxed his guard was down as well.

"As you testified, Frank pulled his gun first .. is that correct?" Victoria asked her first question.

"Yes Frank pulled his gun first, but ...."

"So, Mr. Corinthos was being threatened bodily harm by Frank, so Sonny pulled his gun in self defense." Victoria twisted the truth.

"Self defense? No that's not what I saw. What I saw and heard was Sonny threaten Frank and then shoot him." Zander stood his ground against Victoria's questions.

"But Sonny only threatened Frank after Frank threatened him .. correct?"

Zander sighed heavily because he knew Victoria found a discrepancy in his memories of that night to shed a shadow of doubt that Sonny shot Frank in cold blood.

Zander sat and pondered his answer to her question. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and as he sat in the witness box, Ric noticed Zander tense up. He needed to get his brother off the stand and quickly before Sonny's attorney had devoured Zander completely.

Flashes of the shooting revolved in and out of Zander's mind as he sat in his chair. He jerked in the chair as he heard the gunshot go off in his head. He was reliving that nightmare over and over again and he had to rid himself of it happening again.

"Look, I know what I saw and I know what I heard! Sonny Corinthos shot and killed Frank Smith!" Zander shouted from the witness box.

Victoria's eyes widened at his outburst and went back to the defense table. "We have no further questions, your Honor."

Zander's body was shaking in anger as he stepped down from the stand. He walked passed Sonny and glared at him. Sonny stared coldly in return and smirked as if he just got away with murder. Zander clenched his fists at his side and walked passed Ric and reached for Emily's hand to go with him. She did and followed him out of the courtroom.

Zander was feeling nothing but anger for the man who was his biological father. His anger overwhelmed him and walked away from Emily, leaving her standing outside the courtroom, alone and worrying about him as she saw the anger consume him.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Zander stormed down the hallway, and punched the first wall he came too with a closed fist. He pulled back his hand, the knuckles all red from the small drips of blood that seeped from the cuts the wall had made when his fist connected with it. He shook off the pain and stormed down the stairs, his temper still flared. As he walked down the front steps of the courthouse, the defenseless trash can that sat on the sidewalk found itself air born as Zander kicked it with his foot, trash scattered as the can flew and then hit the cement.

He was angry with at himself for giving Sonny's attorney the shadow of doubt to use from his testimony, and he was angry with Sonny for being a bastard of a father who didn't give a damn about him. His temper flared even more as he thought about so many years he had without a father because of Sonny, because of what he did and probably get away with. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he paced the sidewalk trying to cool down.

Emily was worried about her husband and went looking for him. She found him outside the courthouse and just watched him from a distance, keeping an eye on him so he didn't do something stupid. She knew what kind of temper Zander had, and anyone who would get near him during this time was in for alot more then they would bargain for.

Zander had release the anger he was feeling before going back into the courthouse, and he stood down on the sidewalk, his fists clenched at his sides. He looked up towards the sky and just left it all out. It came from deep inside him, he felt it in his gut as it built inside him and he released it in a loud scream. The anger, the pain, the hurt .. all of it left him and he shook off the little bit that was left.

Emily heard his cries from inside the doorway of the courthouse and rushed out the door to be with him. As she came down the cement steps, he turned to see her coming towards him. She ran into his arms hoping he was alright and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close to him. His heart racing and his breathing erratic, she looked up at him and saw the pain still in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked as they stood together underneath a lit streetlight.

"Now that you're here with me, I am." he replied as he held her close and her head leaned in tight against his chest.

Emily noticed his blood soaked hand and knew something had happened. "Zander ... your hurt." she said as she took the bloody hand in hers and examined it for cuts.

"Yeah, the wall won." he chuckled and then winced as she poked at the cuts on the hand. "I'll be fine." he added and she looked up at him.

"We're going to take you to the hospital and get your hand checked out." she noticed his reluctance. "And I want no arguments." she said sternly.

Zander reached into his pocket for his cell phone to call Marcus to pick them up. Marcus was not too far from where Zander and Emily were and had told Zander he'd be there in a few seconds to pick them up. Zander and Emily waited underneath the street light for Marcus and Zander noticed his limo making the turn onto the street only a few short blocks from where he and Emily were standing.

Marcus pulled the car up to the curb and climbed out to go open the back door for Zander and Emily. He then opened the trunk and got a towel for Zander's hand. He handed it to Emily who applied pressure to Zander's hand, hoping to stop the blood from coming out of the wounds he had.

"Take us to GH, Marcus ..." Emily instructed when Marcus got back into the car. He nodded in acknowledgement and turned the car around and drove to the ER.

Inside the courtroom, Ric was about to call his next witness. "The prosecution calls Detective Jake Steele."

Jake got up from his seat and walked towards the witness box. He took a seat in the chair and waited for Ric to ask his questions.

"For the record, Detective .. please tell us your name, occupation and where you are from?" Ric asked.

"Jake Steele, I'm a Detective with the Miami Police Department, Miami Florida." the detective replied.

"Thank you. And what makes you involved in this case, Detective?"

"My father was the investigating officer on this case 15 years ago, Mr. Lansing. He retired a few years ago and I inherited his quest to find out what happened to the deceased, Frank Smith. My investigation led me here to Port Charles and to Frank's son, Zander Smith."

"Did you make initial contact with Mr. Smith when you arrived in Port Charles?" Ric asked of the Detective.

"I tried to but when I arrived there had been a shooting a few days prior and Mr. Smith was in the hospital, heavily sedated, so there was no chance to talk with him at that point, I had to wait a week or so till I got the chance to meet him with him face to face and to talk about the case."

"Can you tell us, Detective what led you to Port Charles and Zander Smith?" Ric asked.

"Most of the leads that my father had been investigating had been exhausted, but there were a few that he hadn't had the chance to chase after, and that's where I had begun my investigation. Zander's mother and her accusations against Michael Corinthos was a good place to start. I read through the reports from 15 years ago, hoping to find a report from Mrs. Smith, but found nothing which sent up a red flag for me as to why she hadn't reported the alleged crime. So my investigation with the death of Frank Smith, started 8 years prior with the alleged assault of Frank's wife. It all led me here to Port Charles to find Zander." Steele replied.

"So when you met with Zander, you already knew he wasn't Frank's son?" Ric asked wondering why Steele hadn't told Zander the truth from the beginning.

"I didn't have conclusive evidence of that fact, but I had my suspicions, yes. The reports that I had access to didn't give me much to go on, and there were things reported in the case file that didn't add up. I just needed to finish what my father had started, it just so happens it led me here."

"Thank you Detective Steele. Nothing further from this witness, your Honor." Ric replied and he went to take a seat at the table once again.

He noticed that Zander and Emily were both missing from the courtroom still and leaned in to Alexis to ask if she had known where they had gone to. He became concerned about his brother and Emily as he was asked if he had anymore witnesses.

"If I may beg the court's indulgence, and ask for a short recess, my next witness has not arrived yet and I'm waiting to hear when that will be." Ric asked the judge for some extra time.

The judge looked down at his watch and noticed it was almost lunchtime. "We'll take a brief recess for lunch. Court will resume at 2pm." he ordered and struck his gavel down to close the morning session of the trial.

After the judge had left the courtroom, Alexis turned to Ric and asked who this witness was he was waiting for, she had read his witness list and she didn't see any witnesses that weren't in the courtroom that morning.

"I'm waiting for a phone call from one of my staff, he's suppose to be getting another witness here for me, but I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. If I can get the witness here, Sonny's for sure going to prison." he was being very cryptic with her.

"Care to tell me who this person is? You know surprise witnesses will call for an objection from Sonny's attorney." she reminded him of the legalities of it all.

"If it works out the way I hope it will .... the witness will be .. my mother." he replied and saw her eyes widen.

"You mean your's and Zander's mother?" she questioned shocked to hear that Zander's mother was alive. "I thought she had passed away a long time ago, Ric?"

"That's the catch, she's been in protective custody for the last 15 years, and I don't know if I have the clearance to get her in the courtroom to testify just yet." Ric replied and a shocked Alexis thought about what this was going to do to Zander.

"You know Zander has been told she died, have you even thought about your brother's reaction to this and that you knew about it and didn't tell him?!"

Ric hadn't realized what it would do to Zander to see his mother again, his focus had been all about this case against Sonny. He knew he had to find Zander and tell him about their mother, he deserved the truth, and it was time to tell his brother that their mother was alive.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Judge Cooper had accepted Ric's request of a private meeting in his chambers and asked Ric to meet 30 minutes before reconvening court. Ric still had to tell Zander about their mother, but he still hadn't had the phone call he had been waiting for, so he wanted to ask Judge Cooper for a continuance of at least 48 hours. Ric had an hour before his meeting with Judge Cooper and had found Zander at the hospital getting his hand tended to by Bobbie.

Zander saw Ric standing just beyond the curtain waiting for him and he noticed his brother looking worried about something, Zander had hoped it was nothing concerning the case. Bobbie finished up the last of the bandage on Zander's hand and left him get up off the gurney as she put away the supplies she used.

"You should clean that tomorrow and re-bandage it, I'll give Emily the supplies to take home." Bobbie explained and Zander nodded in acknowledgement before leaving the cubical to see his brother.

As he emerged from behind the curtain, Ric stepped forward and guided him the chairs to talk. Ric didn't know the best way to tell his brother about their mother, and he knew Zander would be furious with him for not telling him sooner. 

"There is something you need to know, Zander." Ric said as he led him to the couch and sat him down.

"Okay, what's that?" an unexpecting Zander replied.

"There's something I need to tell you about our mother." Ric began.

"What's there to know, Ric? She died quite a few years ago .. end of story." Zander replied as he got up from his seat and Ric stopped him from going.

"No, Zander she didn't."

Zander stopped in his tracks and looked down at his brother in disbelief. He didn't want to believe what Ric said to be the truth, he was at the funeral, he saw the casket being lowered into the ground. His mother was dead. Ric pulled him back down to the couch and had Zander sit with him once more.

"What you mean she isn't? She's dead Ric, I know, I was there."

"I know, so was I but trust me, she's not dead. Our mother is alive, Zander."

"No Ric, you're lying! Why are you telling me this?" Zander replied not believing what Ric was telling him, he saw what he saw, his mother was dead.

"I'm telling you this, Zander, because if all goes right, she's going to testify this afternoon. And I wanted you to be prepared when she enters the courtroom."

Zander looked at Ric in shock. "She's what? How could you let her testify, Ric?" Zander asked as it seemed now to be sinking in that his mother really was alive and he needed to protect her like he had always done before.

"I need her Zander .... she's an eye witness for this case against Sonny! I have to put her on the stand! You don't get it, do you?"

"No I don't, why don't you explain it to me?" Zander said as he sat back down with his brother waiting for an explanation.

"After Frank died, our mother went into hiding, you were quite young yet, so I doubt you'd remember, but she went into protective custody, you know, new identity, place to live ...." Ric's words drifted off as he noticed Zander drifted off to some far place as he remembered the life after his father was killed.

"I remember we moved around alot, we never really had roots anywhere after Frank died." Zander remembered.

"Right, you were moved around alot because Sonny had his men hunt you down, Zander .... you and mom ... Zander, she's been on the run ever since."

"Then Sonny knew about me the entire time, he knew I was his son when I came to town. But if he wanted us so bad, why am I still here, why hasn't he killed me yet if that's what he wants?" Zander was so confused at Sonny's actions against he and his mother.

"I don't know Zander, you're going to have to ask him that. I can only imagine that he enjoys the thrill of the hunt, and keeping you around perhaps he thought mom would re-surface one day."

"I remember after we left the house in Florida, they moved us to upstate New York for a while, near the Canadian border someplace, and I was about 15 when I left home, I couldn't handle it anymore. I had read in the newspaper that mom had died and I returned to our home in New York for the funeral. Dammit Ric, how could you keep this from me? We're brothers!"

"I'm sorry I had to ... I didn't know how to tell you and I didn't know if I should tell you. I didn't want you going looking for her, Zander. She's been hidden for the last few years, I didn't know where she was till a few days ago."

"You knew this entire time she was alive?" another blow to Zander hearing that his brother knew about their mother being alive for the past 10 years.

"I had my suspicions, but I had no proof. I didn't want to bring any more danger on her by looking for her, Zander. And she's still very much in danger until Sonny's behind bars .... which is why I need her in that courtroom today, so we can put an end to this once and for all."

Ric and Zander sat and talked awhile about their mother, till Emily appeared at the nurse's station. Ric had to meet Judge Cooper about his mother testifying, and hadn't much time to get to the courthouse.

"Look, I have to meet with Judge Cooper in 20 minutes about this situation, but I will see you in about hour back at the courthouse." Ric said as he got up from his seat.

"I want to see her Ric, I want to see her before she takes that stand .... you owe me that much." Zander demanded from his brother.

"If there's time, I'll see if I can get in to see her before she testifies."

"Before who testifies?" Emily said as she came upon the tail end of their conversation.

Ric said his goodbyes and left Zander to explain things to Emily about their mother. Zander led Emily to the couch and sat her down. A worried look came across her face as Zander sat down next to her.

"Before who testifies, Zander?" Emily asked again and Zander sighed heavily not sure how to tell her about his mother.

"My mother .... Ric's making the arrangements to have my mother testify against Sonny this afternoon."

Emily giggled. "Well, that can't happen Zander .. your mother's dead, she has been for sometime."

Zander looked at her still not quite believing it himself. "No, she's not ... my mother is alive ..."

Ric walked down the dreary corridor towards Judge Cooper's chambers, he was expecting just a meeting between he and Judge Cooper but when he opened the door to the office, he was surprised to see who was sitting there waiting for him.

He stepped into the office, and she turned around to see him stand before her, she smiled at him when she recognized her own son. Ric dropped his attache case on the floor and went to her. He looked at her, his eyes focused on her every feature remembering everything about her. It had been so long he had seen her, he was hoping he hadn't forgotten, and he didn't. She grabbed onto his hands, her hands were cold as ice, and then they reached up and touched his face, as if she was remembering him as well.

"Is it really you, Ric?" she asked as Ric stood before her in disbelief she was really there with him.

"Yeah mom, it's me."


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Ric glanced around the room to see who was in attendance and then focused back on his mother who still had his hands in hers. He pulled a chair from the corner of the room and sat down next to her. She latching onto his hands once more as she stared at him, memorizing every inch of his face.

Judge Cooper introduced everyone in the room to each other and then opened the case file that laid on his desk in front of him. Ric noticed that Sonny's attorney was not present and began to wonder if she had been called to the meeting or if the judge was not going to to give in to his request to let his mother testify.

"Are we all in agreement here about Mrs. Smith testifying in chambers instead of open court?" Judge Cooper asked of those in his office.

Ric looked at his mother wondering who had made the decision for her to testify in chambers, but he thought too it a better solution then in open court where she would be amongst strangers and the press.

"I have one request your Honor, that is if my mother agrees to it as well." Ric began and looked towards his mother sitting next to him.

"And what is your request counselor?" Judge Cooper asked as he looked over his wire rimmed reading glasses.

"If my brother and I could have some time with her before she goes back? My brother has yet to see her and I think we need to have some time spent together as a family, just the three of us." Ric's request didn't sound unreasonable to Judge Cooper.

"I have no objections. Mrs. Smith?" Judge Cooper replied and gave it to Ric's mother now to decide.

A smile came over her face as she thought of spending time with her two sons. "Alex is here?" she asked of Ric.

"He will be, I told him and it was his request to see you."

Elenore was elated to hear that her other son would be arriving soon, and she agreed to meet with them after her testimony. Ric knew Zander would be overjoyed with the news of meeting with their mother afterwards, it was what he wanted.

"Okay, I guess we're all finished here, we'll get her testimony on record and we'll reconvene in say 30 minutes." the Judge ordered as the others stood from their seats and left his chambers, leaving Ric and his mother sitting in their chairs still.

"I'm going to see if Zander's here yet." Ric said as his mother left go of his hand reluctantly. Ric got up from his seat and left the judge's chambers to go look for his brother.

Ric wasn't looking for his brother long, before he found Zander and Emily sitting on a bench outside the courtroom waiting. Zander stood up from his seat as Ric approached.

"So, did you see mom yet?" Zander asked anxiously.

"I did. She's in with Judge Cooper now. We're going to take her testimony in chambers and she's agreed to spend some time with us before they take her back home."

A smile came across Zander's face. "So .. is she alright? Tell me ....how does she look?" Zander anxious to hear all about his mother.

"She's fine. I didn't get to talk with her much, but she's very anxious about seeing you." Ric told him. "I have to get back to chambers, but I'll be back out soon to get you." Ric added as he led his brother back to his seat with Emily.

When Ric returned to the judge's chambers, he saw Sonny's attorney enter and he followed her in. His mother still in her seat, and she turned to see Ric come in and sit back down beside her. Ric saw the look on her face of concern. "He's fine, mom....." Ric said and his mom cracked a smile.

The stenographer took down Elenore's lengthy testimony word for word. It had taken a little longer then expected, so Judge Cooper was ready to reconvene his court as soon as they had finished. Ric had decided that he would care on the case before Judge Cooper and allow his mother to spend some time alone with Zander in one of the empty witness rooms down the hall from the courtroom, Ric would join them later after the Judge's ruling.

The tall gentleman in a suit escorted Elenore to on of the witness rooms to meet with Zander, and Ric went back to the courtroom to let him know he could meet with her now. Ric approached his brother who sat waiting for him outside the courtroom and Zander stood once again from his seat. Ric accompanied by an officer that would take Zander to meet Elenore in a room down the hall. Ric explained to Zander that she was waiting for him and that he'd be there as soon as the judge gave his ruling.

Zander went with the tall man down the hallway to the room where Elenore was waiting for him. Zander's insides were tied in knots, his palms were moist, his heart was racing, it was the first time he would see his mother in 10 years. He took a deep breath and opened the door of the witness room. As he did, she turned to see who was coming into the room and as she recognized her son's face, a smile came across hers. Zander stood in the doorway, not sure what to do, but his instinct was to rush over to her and embrace her as any son would.

She reached out her arms to him and he rushed to her, falling into her loving embrace. Tears welled in his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. She latched on to his upper arms and pulled from him to take a better look at her son.

"It's really you isn't it, Alex .." she sniffled back the tears and smiled..

"Yeah mom, it's really me."


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Zander tried to focus his eyes on his mother, as warm tears welled in them. He had thought for so long that she was dead and now she was standing before him, it was all too surreal for him to comprehend at the moment. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and never let her go again. Elenore wiped her eyes from tears and released her grip on her son and offered him a seat so they could talk.

"I'm sorry about all this Alex, I didn't want you involved in all this." Elenore said to her son as he sat across from her at the table.

"I know but it's alright now ... I know the truth now and you're okay. That's what matters to me." Zander replied as he reached across the table and offered his hands to her to hold.

"How are you, Alex? I mean really." she asked with concern.

"There is so much to tell you, I don't even know where to begin." he replied wondering how much she knew about his life with Emily or if she knew about taking over his father's business.

"A good place to start would be at the beginning." she cracked a smile towards him.

Zander noticed that his mom glanced down at his hand and smiled when she saw the gold wedding band, so he thought he'd start with Emily and his family. His mom had not known about Emily or Devon, and he wondered how much she would like his wife, his mom a hard one to please sometimes.

"You're married?" she asked when she saw the gold band on his left hand.

"Yes to a wonderful woman who I adore. We've been married about 4 years now and we have a little boy, named Devon."

Elenore's face lit up when she heard that her son had a child. She had always wanted grandchildren and it overjoyed her to know that her son did her proud in that respect.

"Devon's with Emily's parents today, but I can show you a picture if you'd like to see one?" Zander said and he pulled his wallet from his pants pocket and opened it up, showing his mother a picture of his family. "This is Emily and Devon..." his words drifted off as his mother took the wallet in her hands and the tears began to fall once again.

"He's adorable, Alex. He's got alot of you in him." Elenore remarked about Devon. "Your wife, she's beautiful Alex." she added as the images of her son's family burned into her memory for safe keeping.

"Thank you .. they are my life and I don't know what I would do without them."

"So, tell me about business. I read in the newspapers that you took over Frank's business when he passed away. Is that true?" his mother asked and Zander taken back that she knew about that.

"Yeah, mom ... that's true. I have taken over the business, once Uncle Joe passed away, he had inherited from Frank and I was next in line when he died. It's doing well, Emily and I can't complain about the lifestyle it entails other then the danger we live in daily but that's to be expect in this business."

"I'm sure when your wife married you Alex, she knew what came with it. She looks to be a very strong woman, Alex." his mother gathered from the picture she was still holding in her hand.

"She is that. She's been my strength at times, and I am so grateful to have her in my life." Zander replied just as the door to the room opened and Ric stepped inside, Emily in tow.

Elenore looked up and smiled at her son, and then noticed Emily followed behind him. Ric went to his mother and embraced her as she stood from her seat. Emily walked in and closed the door behind her. Zander stood from his seat and pulled her to him and into his arms, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she fell into him.

"Mom, this is my wife, Emily." Zander introduced Emily.

"It's nice to meet you, Emily .... I'm Elenore." Zander's mother replied as she extended her hand to Emily.

"I wish I could say that I've heard a lot about you, but Zander's been pretty quiet about his family over the years." Emily smiled.

"It's okay, dear. I have my boys with me now and of course a new family with you and my grandchild, we can start anew and forget about the past." Elenore proclaimed.

"I'm sure your sons would like that very much, as would I and Devon."

"Good." Elenore replied and then looked at Ric. "How did the case go?"

"The judge is in deliberations. It may be a while. He has a lot of testimony and evidence to review." Ric replied as the two boys huddled together with their mother.

"How soon do you have to return?" Zander asked, his mind already thinking of an option to keep his mother a little longer in Port Charles.

"I don't really know Alex. But I can't be away for very long, the danger is still out there." she replied and wondered what he had working in his mind.

"Zander, I have an idea ..." Emily spoke up.

"I hope your thinking of what I'm thinking, sweetheart."

"I'm sure that I am .... why don't she come stay with us for a while. A few days perhaps." Emily suggested and Elenore became worried about bringing more danger to her son and his family.

Zander pulled Emily to him and kissed her as a thank you for thinking of her idea.

"And don't worry about the danger, Emily and I are staying at one of the safe houses right now, it wouldn't be any trouble at all to have another guest. There's plenty of room."

Elenore looked at Ric and then at Zander and Emily's smiling faces. "I would have to clear this with the proper authorities first." Ric said wanting to do this by the book.

"Okay, you go clear the red tape and I'll have one of the men take mom and I back to the cabin, Marcus can take Emily to pick up Devon at the Quartermaine's. You can meet us later and let us know what you've been able to accomplish." Zander suggested to Ric.

Elenore became excited to know she'd be spending some time with her family and she would be able to see for the first time her grandson, she was anxious to have some quality time with her sons.

Zander pulled his cell phone from his jacket pocket and called one of his men, then he'd call Marcus.

"Thomas, I need you to pick me up at the courthouse." Zander ordered. "And let's do the pickup on the side street, we have a delicate package come with us." he added as he winked at his mom.

He hung up with Thomas and then called his other driver, Marcus to pick up Emily. He made the arrangements and closed his cell phone before stuffing it back in his suit jacket pocket. Zander stepped out into the hallway and held the door open for the rest of them, Ric heading towards his office after saying his goodbyes, while the others went to the side exit and waited for Thomas and Marcus to pick them up.

Marcus was waiting for Emily as soon as they arrived at the side exit. Zander kissed her goodbye and assisted her into the back of the limo. "I'll see you back at the cabin." he said before he closed the door and then Marcus whisked Emily away.

"She's even more beautiful in person Alex. You make me very proud." Elenore said and she kissed his cheek.

It was the first time he could remember hearing that from either of his parents. All he's ever wanted was to have his parents proud of him and proud of what he had accomplished. He could finally say that his life was now complete.


	45. Chapter 45

Thomas drove down the long dirt road towards the cabin, as Zander and his mother sat quietly in the back seat. Elenore watching out of the darkened windows as the scenery passed by, wondering how far from town Zander was taking her.

"How far is this house, Alex?" she asked as the cabin came into sight.

"About hour or so from town, mom. You'll be safe here. Only a select few know of it's existence."

Thomas pulled the limo up in front of the cabin and stopped the car. He got out and opened the back door for Zander and then went to the other side and opened up Elenore's side. Zander climbed out and rushed to help his mother.

Elenore climbed out of the car and noticed the beautiful log cabin standing in front of her. Her eyes widened as she noticed the colorful landscape that surrounded the house. The wrap around porch on the front reminded her of the house she lived in once as a child and she smiled.

"Emily's handy work, no doubt." she said about the landscape as Zander took her by the arm and walked with her to the front door.

"Yeah, Emily's given this house a real feel of home." Zander replied as he unlocked the front door and opened it.

Elenore stood in the doorway and was taken back by the country charm inside. Hard wooden floors welcomed her as she stepped into the foyer, a colorful old rug beneath her feet. Zander removed his jacket and laid it across the back of the overstuffed chair in the living room as he left his mother explore her new surroundings.

Elenore found her way into the kitchen and Zander soon followed, finding her smiling as she looked at the pictures of Devon on the refrigerator. He reached up into the cupboard for the coffee Emily had kept there and asked his mother if she would like a cup.

"Would you like a cup of coffee while we wait for Emily?" Zander asked his mom as she sat down at the round kitchen table.

"Yes I would, thank you dear." she accepted his offer. "This is a really beautiful house, Alex." another compliment to Zander and he smiled in return.

"Thank you. We don't use it often but it's here when and if we need it. Emily and I thought during the trial it would be a good time to get away from the city. There's more danger in town then usual for me, and I thought coming up here would protect Emily and Devon. We've been here about a month now."

"Has it been a big adjustment for Emily? I mean being a wife in this business is not easy." Elenore asked as Zander came to the table and sat down with her.

"Emily knew when she married me that this was my life, she knew the risks coming into it and believe me she had her eyes wide open to that fact. The guards, the drivers, the extra security are always on her mind, I'm sure and so is the worry and concern she has for me, but I guess that will never go away. It's been hard for the both of us lately and being shot and in the hospital for 3 weeks doesn't help matters any I guess." Zander let slip about his hospital stay and noticed his mother's reaction.

"Oh my God, Alex .. how long ago did that happen?! Elenore questioned concerned for her son.

"A few months ago, but I'm fine ... it wasn't anything, really." Zander replied trying to trivialize the dangerous situation he had been in.

"Being shot is not just nothing, Alex ... you could of been killed."

"Yes I know, mom, but this is the risk of living in the life I lead. There's no guarantees or promises, and Emily and I both know that, as did you and Dad."

Zander got up from the table and walked to the counter. He took out two coffee mugs from the cupboard and poured the fresh brewed coffee into them. He brought them to the table and sat back down with Elenore.

"So tell me about Emily's family, what are they like?" his mom asked as Zander poured sugar into his cup and stirred it in.

Zander snickered at the thought of explaining the Quartermaine's to her. "Something funny, Alex?" she asked as she lifted the coffee cup to her mouth and took a sip.

"It's just the Quartermaine's are hard to describe, they are a bit dysfunctional. And when I say dysfunctional I mean, showing that they love one another entails blackmail and backstabbing. Although they do seem to genuinely love and care about Emily, she's the youngest of the family." he explained.

"Oh I see, so she has brothers and sisters?"

"Well, Emily has two brothers, and she has a sister, I guess you could call her that. Emily's adoptive father's daughter, at least I think she's still his daughter, like I said it's a very unique family, those Quartermaines. I can tell you that they probably own half of Port Charles. They are a long standing core family in the city and are a ruthless business family. Emily's grandfather owns ELQ."

The mention of ELQ got Elenore's attention, she recognized the name from somewhere but just couldn't put her finger on where she had heard it before. Her mind searched her memories as Zander continued.

"And I can tell you another thing, they don't have much use for me, either. Never have and I don't think ever will. Although Emily's parents have come around somewhat since we got married but Edward, Emily's grandfather, he still calls me a deviant when he gets the chance." Zander chuckled at the thought of hearing Edward bellow the word. "But I can't say too much against her family, they do love Devon and they would do anything for him. They've been a great help to us when we needed them to." he added as he heard a car pull up outside the house.

Elenore turned around towards the front door and Zander went to see who had arrived. "Marcus is back with Emily and Devon." Zander announced and Elenore emerged from the kitchen to greet them.

Zander went out onto the front porch to meet them and noticed Ric pull up behind them in his car. Elenore stood in the doorway anxious to finally meet her grandson and she noticed her other son, climb from his car.

Emily emerged from the limo and reached in for Devon who was still in his car seat. Marcus helped her with the bags she had brought back with her, as Zander came down the front steps to meet them. Ric approached him and greeted him as Emily withdrew from the back seat with Devon in her arms. Elenore's face lit up when she saw the toddler being passed to Zander and they all walked up towards the house.

Devon buried his face against Zander as he saw a stranger to him waiting in the doorway. Elenore displayed obvious excitement about seeing all of her family as she stepped out of the way as they came in the door. Devon smiled shyly at her as he clinged to his daddy. Ric was the last to come in and he closed the door behind him as Emily had Marcus set the bags down at the bottom of the stairs. Zander took Devon into the living room and Elenore followed.

"Mom, this is Devon....." Zander introduced and noticed that Marcus waited by the door. Emily came in and sat down with Elenore and Devon as Zander excused himself to go talk with Marcus.

Elenore picked up Devon and smiled at him, he giggled in return. "I see the shyness doesn't last long with you .." she laughed and Emily laughed with her.

"Yeah he sometimes takes to people right away and others he doesn't. You seem to be one of the lucky ones." Emily replied as Elenore sat Devon down on her lap.

"He's a beautiful baby, Emily." Elenore said as she smoothed her hand over Devon's soft black hair, she noticed the cute curls that caressed his neck and smiled.

Zander glanced over into the living room as he spoke with Marcus about business and he saw his mother getting acquainted with everyone.

"Keep me posted on the Morgan situation, okay. If anything changes, I want to know about it." Zander instructed and Marcus nodded before leaving to go back to town.

"So how did the red tape cutting go, Ric?" Zander asked as he walked into the living room with the rest of them. "Is it alright if mom stayed here for a few days with us?" he added as he stood next to Ric.

"I put in a request for mom to stay until the verdict is in about Sonny. If he's convicted, I think the danger will subside and she'll be able to stay as long as she likes. Since there isn't any one left from the original organization, I don't see the threat, we'll just have to wait and see. For now, she can stay here and be with her family." Ric finished an a smile came across all of their faces.

At least for the next few days, Zander would be able to spend the time with his mother, something he had thought he would never get the opportunity to do again. Devon reached for Zander and he picked him up in his arms, only to sit back down with him on the couch, between Emily and Elenore, Ric looking on from the overstuffed chair.

For a while at least, all was calm for Zander and his family, but he knew he had better enjoy what he had for those brief moments, happiness never came easy and didn't last long. There was always some type of storm brewing outside just waiting to come down around them unexpectedly.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Emily and Elenore had taken Devon for a walk down to the lake, leaving Zander alone in the house to work in peace and quiet. With his mom staying with them, it was a little more crowded and alot more noisy then before, so to give him time to do some paperwork, Emily decided to give him a break from the family for a little while.

Zander sat at the desk staring at the paperwork in front of him, he knew exactly why he was still looking at the same page for the last 20 minutes, his mind was filled with memories of his past, he wish he could forget. Though the memories of his father's shooting had dissipated, new memories filled their place now, those memories of he and his mother, and what they endured after his father's death. The moving around from town to town, not really settling down any one place so he could call home. Elenore had always told her son that it didn't matter where they lived, they had each other and that was enough. And he guessed it was, but looking back on the life they led for years after Frank died, he would never want that for his children or for Emily.

He got up abruptly from his seat, his head spinning from the numbers he had been staring at for the last hour, he needed something to get his mind off of the business for a while. As he walked into the kitchen, he noticed a date circled in red and wondered why it was marked. He hadn't noticed it before, he made a mental note of it and he'd ask Emily when she came back from the walk with his mom and Devon.

As he sat at the round table, the red circle caught his eye again and he stared at it till it became fuzzy. He remembered the last time he had seen one of those red circles and a smile came across his face. Numbers once again filled his head, this time, the numbers were dates, and dates he remembered quite well. He sipped the coffee he had just poured in his cup and grinned.

Emily and Elenore waltzed through the front door with Devon giggling like he always did and Zander got up from the table and when to greet them.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Zander asked as he walked towards them, Devon reaching for him as he got closer.

Zander took Devon from Emily and smiled at him. Devon giggled into his chest as he buried his face against his daddy. Zander held Devon against him and he wrapped his little arms around Zander's neck and held on as Zander walked with him into the living room.

"We had a nice walk and a nice talk, dear." Elenore said as she sat down with them.

"Talk? I'm sure that talk was about me ...." his words drifted off when he heard the snickers come from the ladies who sat with him.

"You and then some, sweetheart." Emily replied with a grin.

"And while you were out talking about me, I noticed something myself." he got up from his seat and took Emily's hand. "Come with me ....." he said as he led her to the kitchen.

They stood together in front of the calendar with the big red circle around the date and pointed at it, to show Emily what he had discovered. Her eyes widened, he never looked at the calendar hanging on the wall for as long as they had been living at the cabin, yet today of all days, he noticed it. She had made that red circle quite a few days ago and just kept her eye on the days that went by, hoping.

He noticed Emily's reaction to his discovery and grinned, he knew what it meant. Emily saw the grin come across his face, and thought she better say something before he jumped any further with his conclusions.

"Zander .. I'm ... this doesn't mean that I'm ..." she stuttered as she tried to get out the words so she could explain the red circle.

Emily had her own suspicions but she didn't have the proof that she wasn't or even if she was, she needed another week to be positive, she had to deter him for a little while longer.

The longer she paused before explaining the more excited he got and the more convinced he was that she was pregnant again.

"Look the red circle doesn't mean anything ... I mean it probably meant something at one time, but it doesn't mean anything now. Let's just forget we saw it, okay?" she said hoping he'd agree to forget that it was there and not to worry about why it was there. She hated to cover up why it was there, but she wanted to be sure before she'd tell him. It wouldn't be the first time that she thought she was pregnant and wasn't. And with the risky pregnancy she had with Devon, she just wanted to be sure before turning their life any more upside down.

Zander raised an eyebrow to her explanation, and certainly didn't believe her. Emily was never a good liar, he saw right through her but trusted her enough to tell him when she was ready to. He knew what kind of stress would fall upon her again if she were pregnant, it was a rough pregnancy with Devon, and he understood her motives for not wanting to tell him if she wasn't sure.

"I'm sure you'll tell me when you're ready to ...." he smiled and walked away from her.

She laughed nervously, taking one last look at the red circle then glancing down at her flat stomach and smiled.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

Ric sat in his office behind the desk when the phone call came in. He called Zander and was the bearer of news that the judge was reconvening court that afternoon, he had made his decision. Ric collected the files on his desk and placed them into his outbox, then stood from his seat and smoothed out his jacket and tie, buttoning the jacket before walking towards the door. He picked up his briefcase before leaving his office and heading for a meeting with the FBI about his mother's case. He was hoping to hear a conviction that afternoon and if he did, he wanted to be sure his mother would be out of danger if she'd stay in Port Charles.

Ric walked into the office, two gentlemen in suits were already there waiting for him. He set down his briefcase on the conference table and then approached the first man.

"Mr. Brooks ... it's nice to see you again." Ric said politely as he extended his hand.

"Mr. Lansing .. you, too. This is Mr. Cooper." Brooks said as he introduced the other gentleman to Ric.

"Cooper? Any relation to our Honorable Judge Cooper here in Port Charles?" Ric question as he shook Cooper's hand.

"He's my father." Cooper replied and smiled.

"I see." Ric replied and then went to his briefcase to get the paperwork needed so they could get started. "I just received a phone call that the verdict is in on Mr. Corinthos. And I wanted to cut through some of this red tape that needs to be cut so my mother can reside here in Port Charles, that is if we get a conviction." Ric continued as the two gentlemen stepped forward and began reading over the paperwork Ric had already completed.

"If you get a conviction this afternoon, Mr. Lansing, the government sees no reason why your mother couldn't move to where ever she feels most comfortable. I understand you and your brother both live here now, is that correct?" Brooks asked as he read over one of the documents.

"Yes that is correct. Our mother would like to move here, if that's possible. She'd like to be close to the family." Ric replied.

"We understand her needs, Mr. Lansing. If a conviction comes this afternoon, we'll see the paperwork is filed and your mother can be released from our protection." Cooper stated as a smile came over Ric's face.

"Thank you. I'm sure my mother will be happy to hear this news." Ric replied with a smile as his cell phone rang from within his blazer pocket.

He excused himself from the meeting to take the call.

"Lansing."

"Cut through that red tape yet?" Zander voice was heard from the other end.

"Actually yes, and I'll tell you all about it this afternoon when you get to the courthouse." Ric replied as the two gentlemen he was meeting with said their goodbyes.

"We'll be in touch, Mr. Lansing." Brooks said as he walked passed him, still on the cell phone with Zander.

"Who was that?" Zander asked after he heard the other voice.

"Mr. Brooks. I was meeting with him about mom's situation. I hope you are on your way to the courthouse, court reconvenes in 30 minutes."

"Already here .... we're in your office."

"I'll be right up." Ric replied and flipped his phone closed. He gathered his things and headed up to his office to meet with Zander.

As Ric reached his office, he saw Alexis approach from the opposing direction. She seemed to be in a hurry as she scurried down the hall towards him. She and Ric's relationship had grown closer over the past few weeks. Ric had asked her for coffee one afternoon and they had met at Kelly's, and then it was lunch going over paperwork for the trial, and finally last week Ric asked her for dinner. She was hesitant at first, but it was just dinner, so she thought. It was becoming quite clear that dinner wasn't all that had happened that night at his place.

"Hey ...." she greeted Ric and he cautiously gave her a peck on the cheek.

"Hey ... I was just about to go in and meet up with Zander and Emily, they're waiting for me in my office." Ric replied as he showed Alexis the door to the office.

"Good ...." she said trying to catch her breath from being so rushed.

Ric opened the door to the office and the two of them walked into together, noticing the eyes upon them, along with the smiles on the faces of those who were staring at Ric and Alexis's coziness. Ric walked in and set his briefcase down by the door and Alexis went to say hello to the family.

As Ric stepped further into his office, his mother greeted him with a loving hug. "So, how did your meeting go?" she asked as she pulled back from him.

"The meeting went fine. The government as no problems with you moving to Port Charles or where ever you want if there is a conviction this afternoon." Ric replied with a smile.

He saw the smiles that came across their faces, but there still was some doubt with his mother. It concerned him that she'd be worried about living in Port Charles, and he wondered why she had doubts.

"Mom? What's wrong?" Ric asked as he leaned forward against the desk.

"Nothing's wrong, Ric. It's really great news about me being able to live here with my family." she replied and pasted a fake smile across her face as doubts filled her head. She couldn't help but remember Emily's relation and hearing the name Quartermaine again. It had been years since she had heard the name, but she wouldn't soon forget the memories.

Ric looked bewildered to his mother and she just smiled. He shrugged off her reaction to his question and focused on what was at hand, Sonny's trial and conviction as he looked down at his watch and noticed they didn't have much time to get back down to the courtroom.

"We better get going....Judge Cooper hates tardiness." Ric said as he got up from his seat and buttoned his jacket.

The five of them headed down to the courtroom to hear the verdict, all of them hoping Sonny Corinthos would be spending the next 20 years behind bars.


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The family walked into the courtroom, Ric and Alexis followed them in and they all took their seats. Sonny was yet to arrive to the courtroom, only his attorney was sitting at the defense table. The side door opened and the guard walked in with Sonny by his side. Sonny handcuffed in front and led to his seat at the table with Victoria. The guard sat him down in the seat hard and it took all of what Zander had in him not to snicker at the thought of Sonny spending the next 20 years of his life in prison. It was what his family had been waiting for for the last 15 years.

All got quiet in the courtroom as the bailiff asked everyone to rise from their seats as the Honorable Judge Cooper walked in and took his seat on the bench. Cooper struck down his gavel to open court and then looked out across his courtroom at all who were there to witness the verdict.

Carly, Jason and Elizabeth sat behind Sonny, as Zander and Emily along with Elenore sat waiting on the opposing side. Judge Cooper looked sternly at Sonny before he began to read what he had written down for himself.

"I must say, I am not surprised to see my courtroom filled this afternoon. Mr. Corinthos you must be a popular person to have so many people wanting to hear what fate I will be dealing you today." Cooper began as he looked down at Sonny, who just smirked in return. "Well, now as you all know I have reached my decision about Mr. Corinthos and the charges that have been pressed against him. And I won't leave you in suspense any longer. Mr. Corinthos, please rise."

Sonny and Victoria rose from their seats as Judge Cooper looked down upon them from the bench. "Mr. Corinthos before I put forth this verdict on you, do you have anything to say in your defense?" Cooper asked as Sonny looked up at him.

"No sir I don't. I don't think anything I would have to say would change your mind, you obviously have reached your decision, and I don't think I or anyone else can change it." Sonny spoke up.

Carly leaned forward in anticipation of the verdict and reached out her hand to her husband for support. "Okay then, I guess I will continue. In the case brought against you Sonny Corinthos, you were charged with Murder in the first degree and I have reviewed all the evidence and the testimony brought before me over the last few weeks. Taking into consideration all that I have heard from both sides and the witnesses that have testified in this court, I find that you, Sonny Corinthos are innocent of the charge of Murder in the first degree. After reviewing all of the evidence, I am ordering this case to be a case of justifiable homicide."

"You have got to be kidding?! Sonny killed my father, your honor! I was there!" Zander rose from his seat and protested the judge's ruling.

"Mr. Smith, sit down!" Judge Cooper demanded as Ric rose from his seat and tried to calm down a very angry Zander.

"We'll get him another way... trust me." Ric whispered to his brother as he sat back down next to Emily.

While there were outbursts from Zander, Sonny embraced his wife who sat behind him, along with Jason and Elizabeth. A smirk came across Sonny's face and Zander noticed, which made him more angry and it took all of what was inside him to stay in his seat and not cause mass chaos in the courtroom. Zander flinched forward and Ric and Emily both reached for him to keep him in his seat as they both noticed why he was so anxious to get up.

Elenore slouched down in her seat and held her hand to her head, she knew now she would never be able to be with her family, she still was in danger, and now more then ever.

Judge Cooper rapped his gavel on the bench and brought his courtroom to order once again. "This is not the time or place for explanations of my ruling, but I would like to see Mr. Smith and company in my chambers. Mr. Corinthos, you are free to go." Judge Cooper ordered and struck his gavel down for the last time. "Court's dismissed." the judge got up from his seat and stepped down, he waited by the side door for the bailiff as Sonny and his family celebrated as they walked out of the courtroom. All Judge Cooper could do was shake his head at the spectacle he was witness to.

After exchanging glares with Sonny and those with him, Zander and his family, along with Alexis, did as they were ordered to do, they went to meet with Judge Cooper in his chambers. Zander stormed into the judge's chambers and voiced some harsh words before Ric could stop him.

"You do realize you just put the most wanted man on the east coast back on the streets?! Sonny is guilty as sin and you know it!" Zander shouted leaving off some steam still inside him.

Ric came up behind him and tried to get control of his brother before he got himself arrested. "I'm sure Judge Cooper has a very good explanation as to why he left public enemy #1 back out onto the streets." Ric said to his brother and then glared over his shoulder at Judge Cooper. "Let's hear what he has to say before we go throwing around accusations." Ric continued as Zander listened to him.

"Okay let's hear it! Do tell ... I'd like to know why you left my father's killer loose!" Zander still shouting as Emily and Elenore stood just inside the door with Alexis. Ric trying to regain some control of the situation.

"Would you have a seat and perhaps I will tell you why, Mr. Smith." Cooper said as he took off his robe and sat down behind his desk.

Zander reluctantly took a seat and Ric did too, their mother taking a seat as well next to Ric, waiting hear the explanation too.

"My reasons for my decision are this .... I had a meeting this morning with two federal agents who have been working on a case for the past 5 years, and though I cannot tell you the details, my decision was heavily weighed on what they had to tell me. Along with a few other discrepancies in the testimony, I had to rule the way I did. As I understand it, with this verdict, Mrs. Smith you are still in protective custody of the federal government, however, after what I heard this morning, your paperwork for release is underway. That is IF you are willing to move here to Port Charles to be with your family. Even though I don't agree with your son's choice of business and wish myself that I could sentence him to 20 years, Zander is one person who could protect you better then any one else. With that said Mr. Corinthos may be out on the streets, but he won't be for very long."

"Okay that's all well and good, your Honor, but how do we know that the fed's case will stick. This isn't the first time Sonny's been under investigation by the FBI." Zander questioned knowing he'd be in the same boat had it not been for some delicate handling of the situation by his attorney.

"I can't answer that for you, Zander. I don't know and I can't guarantee you that Mr. Corinthos will be seeing the inside of a jail cell. I can't discuss the case the federal government has nor can I predict what will happen. I can tell you that I can keep your family together, if that's what all of you want?" the Judge replied as he looked towards Elenore.

"Mom? That's what you want isn't it? To live here in Port Charles with us?" Ric asked as he reached for her hand and held it.

She seemed to be off someplace else in deep thought and was snapped back at the touch of Ric's hand. "Oh, yeah that's definitely what I want. I want my family together, we've been apart way too long."

"Good, then if that is all, I have some work to do before the next case." Judge Cooper said as he tried to empty his office so he could get some work done.

The family left the judge's chambers, still questioning his decision and it now became a wait and see situation. Zander had some calls to make to his men, he needed to add more security now that Sonny was back on the streets, for how long he didn't know, but if the federal government couldn't rid their lives of Sonny, Zander was ready to make it happen.


	49. Chapter 49

Chapter 49

It had been a few weeks since the verdict and Zander was not all too happy about the idea that Sonny was still walking the streets, he was anxious to find out about the federal case that was pending against Sonny. He had exhausted all his personal avenues, including his brother and had decided what was best for his family was that Sonny needed to be removed from their lives for good. He had others to worry about besides himself, and now that his mother was living in Port Charles, it made it all the more important to take out Sonny.

Zander had been working in the study for the last few hours, trying to make the connections he needed to put his plan into motion. He needed an alibi for the exact time, and he needed more then Emily to be his witness. She was his wife, she would sure be a problem as a credible alibi, he needed more. He relaxed back against his chair and it leaned back with the pressure of his body against it. He closed his eyes and went into deep thought about what he was planning on doing. There could be no mistakes, no slip ups, this had to come off perfectly if it was going to work and for him not to go to prison for the next 20 years or worse. As he laid back thinking, he didn't hear Emily come into the study.

"Zander?" she waited for him to notice her in the room.

He still laid back in his chair, turned his head towards her and opened his eyes to look at her. "Hey sweetheart ..." he said and he reached for her as he extended his arm and hand to her.

She walked to him and took his hand as he led her to him. He popped up from the relaxed position and sat up straight in the chair, he then pulled her to him and back into his lap as her legs hung over the arms of the chair. She left out a gasp as she was surprised that she ended up in his lap.

"I need for you to make sure you have the 18th open. I made a doctor's appointment with Dr. Meadows. I wanted it sooner but she didn't have anything open till then." Emily said as Zander reached his arms around her and flipped his calendar to the week of the 18th.

"That's 3 weeks from now." he replied as he took the pen and wrote in the small space a note about the appointment. "Can't we find out sooner then that? I don't know if I can wait that long." he pouted, disappointed that he'd have to wait for 3 more weeks to find out of Emily was pregnant again.

"Well, I could always use the home test I have left, but it's not as accurate as a blood test from Dr. Meadows." She remembered she still had one test left in the box she had bought a month or so ago.

Zander lifted her up off his lap and she stood up. "What are you waiting for? Go take the test!" he smiled. "Maybe we can finally have something to be happy about!" he continued as she began to walk away from him, nervous about taking the test herself.

As she left the study, she heard the phone ringing and figured he would be busy with business till she got back. She climbed the stairs slowly, on one hand not wanting to know and yet on the other she couldn't wait to see the positive result. She knew she was with child, she could feel it. Just like she had when she was pregnant with Devon. She knew weeks before the blood test confirmed it. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She pulled the test out of the drawer and opened up the box. Her insides twisted with nerves as she ripped open the plastic wrapper and then stared at the stick. She breathed in deeply knowing what ever the results were, it was meant to be. If she and Zander were meant to have another baby, they would. She couldn't predict their future, but she was confident that whatever would come their way, they would overcome it together.

While Emily was upstairs all Zander could think about was what the results would be. He became anxious to know and began to pace his study, back and forth. A few minutes had passed, but it felt to him a lot longer and he then heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He wrung his hands together and ran them through his coal black hair in frustration. He couldn't take it much longer, he had to know.

Emily came down the stairs with the results in her hands, she was shaking so bad as she held the stick tightly so she wouldn't drop it. She had not looked at the results, she wanted her and Zander to find out together. A silence came over the room as she stepped into the doorway of the study. He stopped pacing and looked at her, by the expression on her face, he couldn't tell if it was good news or bad.

"Here .. you look, I can't." she said as she extended her hand to him, her hands shaking from being so nervous.

He took the stick from her and pulled off the cap. He released a deep sigh and looked up from the results. She looked at him, and he didn't say anything just looked at her with a blank face. He replaced the cap and handed it back to her, then stood there, still not saying a word.

"So ... are we pregnant?" she asked anxiously.

He still giving her a blank stare. "Well, I don't really know .. all I saw were lines." he cracked a smile.

"Lines? Lines as in two of them?!" she asked as she was starting to get excited. She couldn't stand it anymore and pulled the cap off of the stick to see for herself.

He stood there and watched her look down at the results, a smile came across her face and then his. He was waiting for her reaction to the results as she just stared at them.

Her one hand went to her mouth and the other went to her stomach as she looked up at him, he smiling in return. He nodded to her and she nodded in return as she confirmed what he had already suspected from reading the stick.

"We're pregnant!!!" she squealed as she ran into his arms almost knocking them both to the floor.

He wrapped his arms around her and spun her around, lifting her up off the floor, her feet dangling against him. Both of them were overjoyed with the results of the home test. It was about time to bring some happiness to the family and Emily being pregnant again was just what the doctor ordered.

He set her down and pulled back from her. He reached up with both hands, cupping her face in them. "Congratulations, mommy." he whispered just before his lips pressed softly against hers. She fell into him and wrapped her arms around his neck, the stick that held the positive results still wrapped tightly in her hand.


	50. Chapter 50

Chapter 50 - final chapter

After collecting his messages, Ric walked into his office and set down his briefcase by the door to remove his jacket. He picked up his briefcase once again and carried to his desk, setting it down on top of the paperwork that had piled up. He not noticing the front page of the morning Port Charles Herald, he sat down and opened up the case. He took out more files and added them to the pile he had started on last night. As he removed the briefcase from the desk, he glanced over at the framed picture that sat on the edge, just beyond the pile of files.

He and Alexis had grown quite fond of each other over the past few months, he not sure of what to think of their budding relationship, they were like oil and water, but for some reason they clicked together. She understood him and knew where he was coming from most of the time. She was beginning to know him better then himself and though it scared him to get so close to her, enjoyed her company and was intrigued by her.

He was brought back as Alexis knocked on his office door and he noticed her standing there. "Hey ... what can I do for you, Alexis?" he said as he reached for a file folder from the pile.

"I came to find out what your plans were for tonight. I have this dinner thing to go to and well ...."

"And you wanted to know if I was free tonight to go with you ..." he finished her thought.

"Yeah something like that." she replied as approached his desk.

"If I don't drown in paperwork, I'll be happy to go with you tonight." he chuckled at the mounds of files that lay scattered covering his mahogany desk.

"Need some help?" she offered

"No, most of these just need signatures. I'm just signing off on some cases. What I need is an assistant."

"Well, I can't help you there, I'm in need of my own." she laughed.

"Have you talked with Zander lately? He hasn't called and I can't seem to get a hold of him." Ric asked as he laid the file on top of the morning paper, not noticing the headline.

"I think with the baby coming, he and Emily are finding themselves a bit busy for everything else." she excused the absence of Zander and Emily.

"Yeah I'm sure that's it. I'm thrilled for those two, it's about time they have some happiness in their lives." Ric replied as he got up to file the paperwork he had been signing.

As he removed the file from the desk, Alexis noticed the headlines on the newspaper that laid underneath and picked it up off the desk.

"Ric ... did you see this morning's paper?"

"No, I haven't had the chance to, why?" he replied as he turned back towards her noticing she was reading the headlines of the newspaper.

"Because I think you should read the front page." she said as she turned the paper to him, holding it in her hands so he could see the headlines that read .... "No Charges for Corinthos".

As he read the headlines he walked towards her and grabbed the paper from her hands. Reading the article that was underneath the picture of Sonny, his mouth dropped. The federal case had been dropped due to lack of evidence.

"I wonder if Zander's seen this ...." Ric said as he looked up from the paper.

Zander and Emily stepped off the elevator on the 5th floor of the hospital, they were on their way for Emily's appointment with Dr. Meadows. With smiles across their faces, they walked down the corridor to the doctor's office, knowing what the results would be made it a little easier for Emily to be there, there was no stressing about what the results would be, she already knew. Her appointment was just for confirmation and to get set up on a routine of vitamins and doctor's visits for the next 7 months.

Her and Zander waited for Dr. Meadows to finish with another patient in the waiting room of the office. After a short time, Dr. Meadows emerged from behind the closed door and invited Emily in, Zander waited in his chair for her.

"So how are we feeling, Emily?" Dr. Meadows asked as she took Emily's chart in her hands and looked down at it.

"A little nervous, but fine otherwise." Emily replied as she hopped up on the exam table.

"No morning sickness, dizziness ...."

"No not this time." Emily replied as Dr. Meadows turned towards her.

"Okay then, I guess we'll take a look to see what we have and get you on the schedule. You can put this on and I'll be right back." the doctor said as she handed Emily a blue paper gown to wear.

Emily got down off the exam table and removed her clothing, so she could slip on the gown she was given. As she slipped on the blue gown, she noticed the fullness of her breasts, a sure sign of pregnancy, she had that with Devon. Emily got back up on the exam table and waited for Dr. Meadows to come back.

She waited a few minutes till the doctor returned and then she laid back on the table after Dr. Meadows closed the door. The doctor approached her and took a seat on the swivel stool at the foot end of the table. Emily could feel the pressure inside her as Dr. Meadows examined her and she relaxed her body as she breathed in deeply and exhaled.

Dr. Meadows pulled back from Emily and removed the gloves from her hands as she stood up from the stool. "Well, you are definitely pregnant, and we'll see how far along with an ultrasound at the next visit. I want to take some blood and run some tests, but from what I can tell, you shouldn't have any trouble with this baby."

Emily sat up on the table and a concerned look came over her. "As you know, the first time I was at high risk, any indications of that this time?" Emily asked as Dr. Meadows jotted down some notes.

"Well, with any pregnancy there are always risks and no guarantees. We'll take precautions now, so we can prevent the risks the best we can. We'll know more as you progress with this baby." Dr. Meadows reassured her. "I'll send in the technician to draw some blood and we'll get those tests done." Dr. Meadows added with a smile.

"Thank you ...." Emily smiled in return.

She left out a sigh of relief, all was well for now. She caressed her lower abdomen as she heard a knock at the door to the room. Zander peered in and saw her still sitting on the exam table, her feet dangling over the end of the table. She motioned for him to come in and he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He walked over to her and stood in front of her, her legs opened to let him slip snugly in between them.

"What did Dr. Meadows have to say?" he asked as he brushed back her auburn hair around her ear.

"She said all looked good. She wants to get some blood for some tests, but she said I'm healthy to carry this baby and should have no problems carrying to term." Emily said and Zander noticed the worry that filled her eyes as she said it.

"If all is so good, then why are you worried?"

"Who's worried? I'm not worried." she replied trying to hid the fact that she was.

"You are .... I can see it in your eyes, Em." Zander asked knowing that the first pregnancy was rough for Emily, she had almost lost Devon more then once and was put on the strictest of bed rest for the last 4 months before delivering him.

"I guess, I just don't want anything to happen to this baby, Zander. It was a miracle for us to have Devon and we've been truly blessed with him. I guess I'm just worried that perhaps this time we won't be so blessed." she replied as she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She felt his arms wrap around her and his hands caress her trying to soothe her fears away.

She felt him against her and held onto him as tight as she could. She could feel the new life fluttering inside her and she smiled realizing now that all was going to okay.

"You have your orders, now I don't care what you have to do, I want him dead!!" the voice ordered the dark haired stranger who stood on the docks of the Port Charles Harbor.

The stranger flipped closed the cell phone and stuffed into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a picture of the target he was paid to get rid of, and stared down at it. The picture burned into his mind as he crumbled it up and threw it into the water.

He looked up into the night sky and noticed the storm clouds were moving in as thunder could be heard in the distance. He pulled his jacket up to cover his neck as a chill came over him and he stood contemplating his next move. He pulled the 9mm gun from his jacket pocket and admired it, feeling how comfortable it was in his hand and his eyes became cold and bitter as the thoughts of killing Zander Smith filled his mind.

The dark haired stranger walked off and disappeared into the pitch blackness of the night as another storm brewed over the city of Port Charles.


End file.
